Hearts Entwined, Disaster Hence
by Darkness's Messenger
Summary: Business rival of the renowned Kyoya Gaen, our original protagonist, Roa Ciel, struggles to find his way in the world as he contends with his new Buddy, the ghosts of a dark past, and the challenges in the future. WARNING: Will eventually contain explicit/mature content, eventual AU. Please, feel free to share your thoughts! *Being rewritten!*
1. Chapter 1 - Once Upon a Time

_How long has it been? Too long in my opinion. I feel so tired—almost disconnected from my body. The dreams have gotten stranger, and stronger. Now I wake up with water on my cheeks. I don't know how it got there, but I think there's something really wrong with me. The stuff I dreamed about felt weirdly familiar too - but whenever I try and think about it, the memory seems to fade to nothing. I feel... choked up? I don't know what you'd call it. I've never experienced this kind of sensation. I have this weird lump in my throat that just won't go away. But lately, something else is bothering me. This is gonna sound crazy (thank God this is a private diary!) but these pictures keep flashing through my head. Not all the time, just sometimes... Ever since then._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

The year was 2030. The world, Earth, had gone through many strides toward peace, and this 21st century already promised at borderline revolutionary technological advancements. Already fields such as medicine, bio-engineering, architecture, and scientific theory had all experienced a quantum leap forward- this even included gaming.

The game of "Buddyfight" was introduced to the world, under amazing premises. Amazingly, the monumental discovery of other Worlds had occurred, leaving wide open the many possibilities of what lied out there. No longer were other Worlds beyond the human eye's sight, no longer did humans have to wonder whether or not they were alone.

However, this came with a price – The Disaster.

In the year 2026, just before Buddyfight spread throughout the world like wildfire, a global epidemic rocked the planet - The Disaster.

Only after the events of The Disaster transpired was Buddyfight first introduced to the youths of this world. Needless to say, it became a smashing hit, and after no time at all, the events of The Disaster were all but forgotten about, its origin and secrets locked away in some dark, dusty government hideaway. Never to see the light of day, if many adults would have their way.

But that's a story for another time.

Although some people had their reservations about the many monsters now present in the human world, tensions were quickly lost as it became readily apparent that the majority of the monsters were peaceful in nature. That's not to say there weren't rotten apples on either side, but by-in-large, monster-human relations were in relatively high standing. That being said, most monsters chose to adapt what they referred to as a Super Diminutive form, or "SD" form while on Earth for the purpose of seeming less harmful in the eyes of humans. The fact that most SD forms looked like a child's stuffed animal or an anime lover's chibi no doubt helped too.

After 4 short years had past, Buddyfight had, amazingly, become not only the most popular game of all time, but also became its very own lifestyle. Schools popped up around the world with the partial or main intent of producing outstanding Buddyfighters. What was initially a simple game had transcended into a new way of life.

But, not everybody was satisfied with this new world...

* * *

The bell jingled as the door to the Hobby Shop "Castle" opened. Hearing the tinkle of the bell, the apron-wearing manager looked up and waved a greeting at the shop's newest customer, although he paused once he saw that it wasn't any customer he recognized.

A young man somewhere in his middle teens entered the shop. A few of the girls present in the store looked and quickly blushed, and with good reason. The boy had a symmetrical chin and slender, attractive facial features. His triangular bangs covered his forehead neatly, while his face was framed by longer locks of hair that reached down to his shoulders. The hair on the back of his head was slightly shorter, coming down to just his jaw. His fair, unblemished skin was milky, and his piercing blue eyes were sharp.

The young man was dressed a pair of neat, dark blue jeans tucked into knee high combat boots and a black, long sleeved turtleneck shirt, with a plain backpack across his back, although despite his rather dark-themed attire, he still didn't give off a 'punk' vibe. (See my avatar for a quick pic of his face and clothes.)

The young man's gaze wandered about the unfamiliar shop for a few long moments before quickly homing in on the manager, whom was currently moving some boxes in the far end of the store. Easily slipping past the laughing crowd of younger kids, who were watching an ongoing Buddyfight through the shop's main television monitor with a childish zeal, the boy approached the store manager.

"Excuse me, but would you be in charge here?" the boy asked the older manager, calmly eyeing the older man as if sizing him up. The young man's voice was calm and mature, evenly pitched and had a nice low tone to it, although it seemed slightly monotone. (If you want to imagine a voice actor, then think of Keith Silverstein.)

Putting down the boxes, he grinned, "That's right, I'm the Castle Store manager! Wht'cha need, hombre?" The manager asked his potential customer, a friendly grin on his face.

Maintaining his calm gaze at the enthusiastic man, the young man replied, "I'm interested in purchasing some of your newer Buddyfight cards—may I have ten packs of your newest box?" he asked, pointing a slender finger at a box in the glass display case. The Store Manager grinned and turned to fetch the box for his customer, and in the meanwhile, the boy glanced aside to observe the other kids watching the match of nearly everyone's favorite card game: Buddyfight. It was a fairly typical game, absolutely nothing to get so excited over, in the boy's honest opinion.

Then again, such was the mind of a child...

"Hey kid, I grabbed the box ya' wanted." The manager caught back the boy's attention as the apron-wearing man moved to begin ringing him out for his purchase. Upon paying the man, the boy politely thanked the manager with a short bow and made to depart, but the Castle Manager called something out to his back before the boy could successfully scram.

"You know kid, I haven't seen you around here before, and I know all my past customers by heart. You new around here?" he asked, his voice good natured and genuinely curious.

"...Yes, I just moved to this area," he confirmed the Manager's thoughts, "I do a lot of traveling though, so I've been all around the world... You see, I don't tend to stay in one place for very long."

"Really? Wow, that must be pretty cool and all, seeing all the sights and meeting new people. Oh, by the way, I never got to grab you for your name?" The manager asked, although he stated it more like a regular sentence.

The boy frowned. This man was beginning to sound inquisitive, and he didn't want to stay and chat - he didn't _do_ friends.

"...Roa. Roa Ciel." the now named Roa identified himself, somewhat reluctantly. He couldn't just say no and refuse to answer the man, he'd have looked suspicious.

"Well then Roa, don't be a stranger, 'k? You ever need to get some more Buddyfight cards, I'm your bro!" The Castle Manager grinned.

"...Yeah, sure." Roa replied, offering the man a forced smile in response, before once more pushing open the door, jingling the shop's bell for a second, and hopefully last time. As he left the door, he paused for a moment and turned around, facing the store, struck by a sudden sense of finality. Something was about to change; and he couldn't shake the impression that he would never buy another pack of cards again...

As the feeling faded away, he shook his head and continued on, making his way to the mall's currently vacant food court nearby. It was after lunch and before dinner, so the area was mostly empty - perfect for his preferences. The boy occupied an empty seat for himself and began to excavate the card packs one by one, his eyes carefully tracing each card one by one as they were pulled and sorted from their packaging.

Honestly, he still wondered why he even bothered with his almost ritualistic habit of opening pack after pack of cards. Just because it was the anniversary of The Disaster...

He shook his head. He had more than enough money and resources at his disposal to buy as many cards as he wanted, although Roa never could bring himself to, and it didn't have to do with the fact that he wasn't a fan of the game. He almost didn't even _want_ a Buddy, nor, in his own opinion did he deserve one, but for some odd reason, the repetitive purchase and search of Buddyfight cards soothed his troubled mind. And before he knew it, he was at the final pack. Unconsciously holding his breath, he neatly opened the final pack to expose...

Nothing of importance.

Roa sharply exhaled the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. There was no Buddy Rare card. Not that this really surprised him. The odds of finding a Buddy Rare card were slim to none; he would know. To be fair, at least one or two of the cards Roa found he could likely find a use for, but most were ones that he could probably sell off secondhand to somebody else who would have more need of them than him.

Ever since he had to get rid of his his old Buddy...

He pushed the thought out of his mind. Dwelling on the past did neither him nor anyone else any good, and it certainly wouldn't correct any of the mistakes he had made in his youth. The past was OVER.

Withdrawing his phone from his pocket, he checked the time briefly before storing the cards safely in his bag - only 6:30 - he'd find something or other to do with them later. Sliding up from his seat, Roa made to depart from the mall, deciding it was time for him to return home. Not that there was anyone there waiting for him... but nonetheless, his day was coming to an end now that there was nothing else for him to do where he was.

Immediately after pushing open the mall's main entrance door, Roa felt a few drops of water fall upon his head from the sky. As he looked up to the cloudy, rumbling sky, he paused for a long moment, almost as if he and it were in a private conversation with one another.

"There's... a storm coming." He muttered to himself. Quickly donning his long dark blue coat that he stored in his backpack to help stay dry and warm, he began his slow trek back home, as the sky began to let loose its torrential downpour. He didn't take a car or bike to the mall, so walking was his only choice for today. Not that Roa really minded it all that much; he always liked the rain, just not _being_ in it.

Noticing a rather seedy looking alleyway, if the spray paint and littered garbage were any indications, Roa was reminded uncomfortably of his childhood, and an alleyway nigh similar to the one he saw...

'_No, it's just an alley,_' Roa shook the errant thought from his mind, '_Get a grip, you're not a child any more._' Now cutting into the alley as a shortcut, Roa was perhaps only ten minutes or less away from home when, as his rotten luck would have it, he heard something that almost instantly made his blood boil, "P-please, just leave me alone! I don't wanna be your Buddy!" a somewhat young sounding voice rang out in desperation.

"Shut the hell up, you worthless little queer!" An obnoxious sounding voice was quick to scream out, laced with hate and fury.

Roa rolled his eyes, '_Oh my god, now someone's bullying a kid. Can this town really sink any lower?_' He thought morosely to himself, walking around the alley's corner, '_Or, maybe not..._' Roa stopped dead in his tracks. Standing in front of him, with his back turned, was another boy. He was somewhere around his own age, although Roa ventured a guess that he was perhaps a year or two older than him. He was a bit lanky in build, though he was fairly ordinary looking.

Roa instantly loathed the boy. Call it residual feelings from his loathed years of being picked upon and mocked throughout his childhood, but if there was one thing that he despised, then it was a bully.

The fact that he was supposedly going after somebody for their sexuality made it all the worse to him. Although he had thought little of it, in this day and age, most countries in the world had dispelled any anti-gay laws long ago. While this lead to an enormous change in the world, there were still a few ultra-conservatives that opposed it - evident ally, he had run into obnoxious boy in question then realized that he was being observed by somebody, "Hey, you got a problem, buddy?" he growled, turning to face his observer.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a problem; you. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Roa asked rhetorically, and though his voice was outwardly calm, his cold eyes betrayed the inner rage he felt. Upon reevaluating the situation, Roa discovered that the thug was in fact NOT harassing another person, but in fact was doing so to what was obviously a Buddy monster - a small dragon, from what little he could make out in the dark alley, obviously in their SD form. The small Buddy monster looked at him and then back at the bully, his eyes wide with a terrified confusion.

Naturally, the other boy didn't take too kindly to the unwanted interruption, as the corners of his mouth quickly began to sink down in an angry snarl, "You keep your nose out of my business, pal! This is between me and that worthless little fag! Why don't you piss off before I teach you a lesson along with him, huh?" Looking at Roa again, the punk actually began to feel a bit intimidated, as the darkly dressed figure standing motionlessly amidst the cold rain made for an imposing form.

Roa had dealt with this boy's type before, and he knew exactly what was needed to get rid of him too. A dark shadow slowly spread over Roa's face as he held up a Core Deck Case for the brat to see, "Well then, since you seem to be so keen to teach me a lesson, why don't we settle things with a game? You obviously get your little kicks at the expense of your Buddy, so why don't you defeat me in a game of Buddyfight? I win, and you disappear, for good. You win, and you can do whatever you want to me. Or, as I expect, will you cower from a challenge in which you clearly have the advantage?"

The boy glared furiously at the obvious barb before replying, "Done, and when I win, then I get your entire deck, and get to rearrange your face too." The thug quickly caught on, his face twisted up in a grin at the thought of what would surely be an easy victory and a merciless beating.

As lightning flashed, Roa matched his ugly smirk. This trash was beyond saving now.

* * *

A strangled scream rang out through the evening weather, the shrill sound laced with pure terror. What few good Samaritans were out-and-about in the soaking rain heard the shout of distress and quickly hurried toward the noise in the alley.

They found a teenage boy lying unconscious on the ground, a smashed Core Deck Case on the ground beside him.

What the hell happened here?

* * *

A few minutes prior:

**GAME OVER! WINNER:** Roa Ciel!

The automatic voice declared Roa as the winner of their little challenge. The defeated loser, that now obviously being the bully in question, had quickly lost all trace of his backbone upon his loss and had fallen back flat on his ass, looking upwards at Roa in sheer terror.

"S-stay away from me, you freak! I-I'll leave him alone, OK? Just please, don't hurt me!" The boy pleaded to him, his eyes wide in fright. Normally, Roa would have probably done just that, as any other day, he was somebody who completely believed in giving everyone second chances. People could always change, as Roa could personally attest to, and Roa usually liked to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Today was not a normal day.

"I refuse. Scum who beg for mercy are too weak to _deserve_ it," he replied coldly, his red-tinted glare piercing the boy's deepest and most sacred inner fears. Slowly advancing towards the fallen boy step-by-ominous-step, the now not-tough brat desperately scrambled backwards until his back collided with the alley's wall, screaming in absolute terror of the monster approaching him. Something within his mind seemed to snap, and he slumped to the ground unconscious, the growing stain in his trousers most certainly NOT caused by the ongoing rain.

*Tch* "Nothing but a coward," Roa muttered callously, looking down callously at the fallen delinquent in a dark scorn. Raising his leg, he brought his booted foot down at a force resembling terminal velocity right toward the boy's head...

Smashing the Deck Core Case that lay next to his head into fragments, thus destroying the Buddy Contract that bound the Buddy monster to him. Turning his gaze away from the victim of his game's loser, he met the awe-struck gaze of the Buddy monster, who was still on his back. From the Buddy monster's perspective, he had never seen anyone be so deliberately and ruthlessly... well, crushed. The gap of ability between the two fighters was obviously unspannable. As Roa began to approach him, he couldn't help but to feel afraid himself, especially after what he had just seen the boy do to his foe.

'_W-what if he comes after me too? Oh no, I knew I should never have left to find my own Buddy! Now-_' His thoughts were cut to a short as the boy stopped before him and, to his surprise, got down on one knee and - extended a hand towards him?

"Are you alright?" Roa asked gently, his previous cold expression had quickly melted away, giving his young, boyish face a rather warm and soft looking appearance. The Buddy monster couldn't help but blush a little as he was helped up to his feet.

Now that he was closer to the little Dragon, Roa couldn't help but get a better look at him. What was once shrouded in darkness from the shadow of the alleyway was now much clearer. The Dragon was obviously a male who's total height was about to Roa's mid thigh, although he was certainly more than a bit effeminate. He has light, baby blue scales and long, curly blonde hair that was a bit flattened by the ongoing rain. His attire reminded Roa of his own college graduation, being that of a black and white robe with a red tie, small brown shoes, and what resembled a graduation cap, complete with tassels. He had big, honey-golden eyes with long eyelashes and a monocle on his left eye, giving him a scholarly air. He has a tail as well, and the small fangs that gently poked upwards from his reptilian snout completed his look.

He was cuter than any toy plushie that Roa had ever seen, and if his aesthetics were anything to go by, then Roa was certain that the Dragon in question was fully aware of that fact.

"Y-yeah, I'm OK. At least now that he's not picking on me anymore," the Dragon huffed, looked over at the still unconscious boy, "honestly, I was just trying to find my Buddy, not to get stuck with some nasty delinquent like him!" he scowled, crossing his arms, "But still, I know my rightful Buddy is out there somewhere, and I won't stop 'til I find him!" The little Dragon exclaimed confidently, striking a rather amusing pose of determination.

Roa couldn't help but chuckle for a moment at his confidence, "Well, I'm sure that you'll find your Buddy. With an attitude like that, I think there's no way that you can't, right?" he supplied.

"That's right, I - Oh, how rude of me, I didn't even thank you properly!" He looked sheepishly startled before offering a deep bow at his savior, "Thank you for helping out little-old me~! If it weren't for you, I don't know what I ever would have done, Mr... And I never got your name either! Oh, this is so embarrassing! This has never happened to me before." The little Dragon blushed to himself, cupping his cheeks with his hands to try and conceal the growing blush on his face.

"Er, no, it's alright! I'm sure that you've been through way more than you should have. And don't worry about that... at times, I can be a little bit of an airhead when it comes to people's name's too," Roa confessed sheepishly, trying his best to appease the dragon's embarrassment, " And my name is Roa, Roa Ciel. I'm just glad that I could help you out before somebody like... well, _him,_ got to you first," Roa spoke 'him' distastefully, glaring at the aforementioned boy's comatose body. "May I ask you of your name as well?"

"Well, of course! Besides, you're my hero! It would be so rude for me not to introduce myself! I'm the noble Dragowizard, Qinus Axia! But most people just call me Axia!" The now revealed Axia answered, his tone bright and bubbly.

* * *

**And cut! this is the cliffy end of chapter one! I tried to keep everybody in character as much as possible. How'd I do in that regard? Please comment on how good/bad it seems so far! And in case anyone didn't get it, the top part is an entry from Roa's (An OC of mine) personal diary, which will allow for a small glimpse into both his character and his mysterious past with each chapter!**

**Comments are always appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Ciel Manor

_I must have missed quite a lot. It's almost as if I had the longest dream, and I'm only now awake. Those pictures flashed through my mind again on today's mission (as usual). I'm still trying to figure out what it is that I'm seeing. These visions... What could they all about? Maybe when Siegfried called me "special" he meant "crazy"... Seriously, though, am I really the only one that ever experiences this kind of... thing? It feels almost too weird to ask._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

"Well, of course! Besides, you're my hero! It would be so rude for me not to introduce myself! I'm the noble Dragowizard, Qinus Axia~! But most people just call me Axia!" The now named Axia answered, his tone highly bright and naturally bubbly.

Roa nodded, "It's nice to meet you, Axia. But... well, would you mind telling me exactly what it was I saved you from back there?" he asked, "I mean, what exactly happened between you and him?"

Axia resisted the urge to deadpan at Roa's question, deciding that it would be simply better to explain it to him from the start, "Well you see, it's kinda long story... I guess that I -" He was cut off as he suddenly sneezed rather cutely, nearly sending his monocle flying.

"Ah, gazuntite," Roa cut in quickly, and as Axia wiped his nose, Roa thought of something, "You know, we should probably get out of this rain before you catch a cold. I live only about five minutes away from here or so, if you want, you could... come with me?" He looked slightly... hopeful?

The monster thought it over. On one hand, he was always quite leery of strangers, especially given what he had just went through, and without Drum-kins or anyone else around either.

On the other hand, this boy seemed sincere and kind enough that he seemed to be trustworthy, even though Axia had only just met him. And he didn't exactly have anywhere else he could go... His mind made up, Axia cheerfully replied, "W-wow, of course! Thanks!"

Roa nodded, a small smile on his face, "Alright then, let's head on out. If you want, we can talk about on the way there." He offered to the dragon.

Walking alongside the teenage boy, Axia frowned in concentration, "Huh, where should I start then? I guess right back at the very beginning would be the best way. You see..."

And so Axia explained everything to Roa, probably more than he originally intended, but Roa was a great listener, and Axia quickly found himself rambling; spilling all the beans, so to speak. He told Roa of how he came to the world of the Humans to find his own Buddy, a thing which he believed to be greatly important and even magical, in the sense that he should be able to decide who his partner should be and vice-versa.

Axia informed the boy of how he was quickly tracked down and captured by Kyoya Gaen, and how he was offered as a prize on the cruise ship that ended in disaster. How Drum saved him from being thrown overboard by that witch (in Roa's opinion) Sofia, and how he had developed an... admiration, towards "Drum-kins".

Roa got the distinct feeling that there was a bit more between Axia and Drum than simple admiration and gratitude, but he choose not to say anything. After seeing the special bond grow overtime between "Gao-wow" and "Drum-kins", Axia became jealous of them and lonely on his own, and eventually bid them farewell, departing to find his very own Buddy so that he could have a bond like the two of them did, or more.

"-So you see, I put myself back into the card circulation, in search of trying to find my ideal Buddy. But, I never thought I would get stuck with some nasty jerk like that!" Axia huffed, "But then, you came along, and saved me from that bully!" He exclaimed happily as he skipped alongside Roa, "And really, I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you!"

"You know, there isn't any need for you to thank me for the twentieth time now, the fifth time or so was about enough," Roa jokingly reprimanded him, "But still, for whatever it's worth, I really hope that you find your ideal Buddy out there, Axia - from the sound of what you've told me, you've been through an adventure and a half so far - you deserve it. But, if you don't mind me asking... exactly why was that boy so angry with you?" he asked, having some idea of what the cause was, but wanting to hear it from Axia himself.

Axia poked his fingers together as he hesitantly replied, "W-well, you see... at first, he seemed fine, even nice, but..." he trailed off, looking more and more unsure of himself with each word he spoke.

Roa looked at him, his eyes concerned, "If it's something you don't want to talk about then you don't have too, it's alright-"

"No, it's not that," Axia quickly cut him off, "It's just... Well, people often don't like me because they think I'm too clingy, or they... they don't like me because of who I like..." Roa was silent as he allowed Axia to continue, "You see, a-a lot of people really don't like me because I l-like other boys, and they think I'm g-gross, or just don't want to... to be around me at all..." Axia finished, now looking almost afraid how Roa would respond.

The both of them now stopped, Roa quietly dropped down onto his knees before Axia, whose head was bowed low in either embarrassment or shame - possibly both. His hair casting a long shadow over his own expression, Roa slowly reached forward and...

Grasped Axia tightly in a hug, the little Dragowizard's eyes opening wide in surprise, "Is that all you were worried about?" Roa asked quietly in Axia's ear. Breaking the hug after a moment or two, Roa gave his kindest smile to the distraught Buddy monster and continued, "You know, you really shouldn't take what others say so hard on yourself, and I don't care who you like or why, it's fine with me."

"B-but, Roa..." Axia protested, aghast.

"But nothing," Roa cut him off, "If these people judge you for who you like, then that's their problem, not yours - you should be happy with anyone you want to be Axia, and don't _ever_ don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Axia brightened considerably, "R-really? You think so? Oh, I knew it! If-" Axia trailed off as he noticed that Roa was now looking elsewhere.

"Oh, sorry Axia. But, er, we've just arrived at the entrance to my Estate..." He chuckled awkwardly, the touching moment now gone as Roa scratched the back of his head.

...Wait, estate?

At some point or another, the duo had left the suburban area of the city and now seemed to be in a much more open area. Tall, green trees that were easily a few hundred years old and bright, foreign-looking plants peppered the area- perhaps some kind of park or controlled nature reserve? Axia had certainly never been to THIS part of the town before, though now he was glad that he was.

As they continued down a clear path through the vegetation, the house became apparent. On second thought, Axia decided that 'house' probably wasn't the best word to describe Roa's abode - perhaps Manor would be more appropriate? The building in question was a good two stories tall, and didn't seem to be in the traditional Japanese style, from what Axia could tell of it. In actuality, the manor was a seamless blend of classical Greek, Roman, and European architecture, with the occasional Japanese flourish to give it a stylistic and more common (to the area) look.

The decently sized manor was surrounded by tall grass approximately 15 cm or so high. Ciel Manor itself was painted warm, yet clean looking tones of off-white and brown, with the occasional turquoise trim, and - was that a stone chimney? On the far end of the house rested what was obviously a wide garage, although what was inside of it was unknown, as the door was closed at the moment. The entire manor also had a slightly generous amount of vines crawling up it, although not to the point where it looked overgrown.

Standing opposed to the chimney, on the other side of Ciel Manor was a tall tower that resembled something from a Gothic cathedral or Medieval Castle - some kind of rampart or watchtower? The rain falling down upon it gave the whole thing a slightly ominous look, although that did nothing to detract from its beauty.

All in all, while not over the top or massively grandiose or anything, the imposing manor could only be summed up in one way by Axia, "...Whoa, it's so big!" He exclaimed in awe.

Roa chuckled for a moment or two, "That's the typical reaction that I get."

Opening the large, hand-carved wooden doors, the entrance way slowly revealed itself to be spacious and open, with bright lights and vaulted ceilings, easily a good 15 feet or so high.

"Oh wow, this is where you live? Its so HUGE! You could have an entire Buddyfight just in here alone! You now, a dragon could get comfy here." Axia gushed, looking about the spacious entryway in awe.

Roa nodded, although he didn't seem to share Axia's enthusiasm of the place, "Yes, this is my house. I think it's actually much too big for just myself to live in, but -" He cut himself off, as if he had said something he shouldn't have. But it was too late.

"Huh, but what do you mean? You live here alone? But, what about your family and everyone? Even Gao-wow had his Mom and Dad around all the time," Axia asked, trying to figure out why Roa would be any different. It couldn't be that-

Roa sighed, "...How about we go and sit down? I could make some hot chocolate or something for us in the kitchen. We'll talk there, if you want." Roa compromised, uncomfortable with where their talk was headed. Shedding his coat and placing it on a hook, the two began their winding walk through Roa's not-house to his kitchen, with Axia obviously following him for directions.

"What's hot chocolate? I've never had a lot of Earth food, but everyone says that a lot of it's real good! Is hot chocolate any good?" Axia asked quickly, but Roa was able to catch all of it, fortunately.

Glad to have at least temporarily changed the conversation from himself, Roa smiled, decided to answer Axia's questions one at a time, "Hot chocolate is a mixture of chocolate, an earth sweet used in a lot of candy and snacks, and milk, a dairy product used typically as a healthy, cold drink, often during breakfast. It's then warmed up. Most people drink it to stay warm when it's cold out, even though I prefer mine warm then too hot. And yeah, much of our food is good, although a lot of it is also unhealthy, so it's important for everyone to eat a balanced diet so you don't get bloated and unattractive," he joked, "but yeah, hot chocolate is VERY good. You'll see." He chuckled.

The two of them walked into his kitchen, a rather spacious and clean looking room with expensive tiled floors, lots of stainless steel modern appliances and pretty Labradorite countertops that sparkled and captured the light. It was a good match for the rest of the house's interior; modern, expensive, and almost too shiny for its own good. And in no time at all, a pot of chocolate was heating on the stove.

"So, how do you live in a huge place like this all by yourself Roa? You said that you didn't have any family... Oh, dear." Axia trailed off, beginning to catch on to his situation, "You aren't-?"

"...I just don't have any family, ok? From as early as I can remember, I had myself to look out for, and no one else," he replied, "Back when I was younger, I was considered a social outcast, and lived on the streets. People wouldn't even look at me, let alone help me in any way. It's not something I really like talking about, but... well, for a long time, I lived wherever I could survive, and was even treated like some kind of a criminal... But, the only thing I really wanted was a home; a family, like everyone else..."

And Roa continued to talk. Setting the scene, describing every brutality and torment in horrifying detail. All of it was spoken in a cold clinical tone, devoid of any real emotion, as if Roa was merely reading items from a list rather than telling a brutal recount of his life story. He just went on and on, slowly slipping deeper and deeper and darker and darker. And right when Axia thought it couldn't get any worse, Roa would take the tale to new heights of depravity. About five minutes in, Axia began to cry softly, ill to their very core.

Roa stopped immediately, "I'm sorry, I went on for too long."

"Roa…" Axia whimpered. "Roa…. that's so horrible. I'm sorry. I..."

The human frowned, "Don't be. It wasn't your fault." His response was still coldly devoid of any emotion.

Axia's heart wrenched, "You sound so…dead about it Roa," Axia whispered quietly, "you told me all of that like it was the easiest thing in the world. It shouldn't be that easy..."

"Well, it wasn't. But, I've had a lot of time to reflect on it, so it doesn't rile me up any more." Roa said flatly. "Again, I apologize. I knew this was a bad idea from the start; I really shouldn't have told you."

"No…no!" Axia cried. "That shouldn't happen…. that shouldn't happen to anyone…"

"Well, now you know - some of it at least," Roa continued, "I won't speak of this again, it would only upset you more. Still, even amidst everything, I knew that things would one day become better." Roa explained himself, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Axia wiped some of tears away, "...But how could you know that?" he asked, having noticed that Roa seemed to drift off into his own little world there for a minute, but chose not to ask about it. Axia couldn't imagine growing up in the way that Roa did; he always had a roof over his head and a loving family to support him, the very thought of not having any of that terrified the Dragowizard.

Roa hesitated, fiddling with his silverware, "... Look, this may sound crazy, but I was born with a... ability, of sorts," he tried, rubbing his left arm nervously, "through my dreams, I was able to glimpse the future at times."

At Axia's expression of awe and disbelief, he was quick to continue, "But, it's almost never anything definitive, but usually I can get powerful impressions. It's not easy to explain, but... well, an idea or a sequence will unfold in my mind like a flower that blooms. They would usually come in the form of dreams, or more often nightmares, and though in the beginning I had trouble interpreting their meaning, I learned with time that they _always_ came true. Eventually, I learned to control it better." Roa elaborated.

"Wow, really? I've never heard of anyone that can actually predict the future... But, why did you have to grow up on the streets in the first place? I mean, you were just a kid!" Axia exclaimed, now looking a bit crestfallen at Roa's past.

"...To be honest, I really don't know. Maybe my parents thought I was a freak or something and threw me away as in infant. Maybe they died when I was born. Really, I don't know... All I know is that I was always alone, and that I had to fend for and teach myself - if it wasn't for that alone, then I doubt I'd still be standing here in front of you... What happened in the later years is of little importance to me anymore, but to make a long story short, I was able to leave my old life behind, grow very wealthy, and eventually start my own company; Ciel Co."

Axia blinked innocently, "Your own company?" he asked, the idea both unusual and yet, slightly familiar. With a morose wrench of his gut, Axia recalled that boy Kyoya; he was the head of a company too, the one that...

No, from what he has seen of him, Roa wasn't anything like Kyoya, and he couldn't think otherwise. Pushing the unwarranted though aside, Axia adjusted his monocle and continued, "What kind of work do you do then, Roa?"

"Ciel Co. is currently leading in the gaming industry, and manufactures some of the latest and most popular games all over the world," Roa explained, "we've even made some breakthroughs and discoveries in Buddyfight; just about our only major competition is the Gaen Financial Group, who does similar work to us." Axia noticed that Roa looked to be much more comfortable talking about the present and his company than he did about his past, though he choose not to bring that up.

Axia also had the distinct impression that Roa was a bit lonely in such a large, empty house all by himself, but Axia had the best plan in mind to change all of that~!

There was a brief moment of silence before a shrill whistling broke the quiet, and shattered Roa's somber mood, "Crap, that's the chocolate! Oh damn, I really hope it didn't burn..." Roa shot off towards the now-ready pot of chocolate and fussed over it, ironically looking a bit like an intense housewife to Axia's perspective.

Pouring Axia a glass of the aforementioned drink, Roa looked slightly expectantly at the little dragon, waiting to see his reaction. Taking a small sip of the drink, Axia wasn't really sure what to expect, as the taste hit his tongue...

It was so sweet! It was like a warm, creamy liquid with a rich, sweet flavor to it. No wonder all Buddy monsters thought earth food was so good, this stuff was great! Eagerly drinking down a bit more, he had to slow down a bit so as to not burn himself. Finishing for the moment, he gushed to Roa, "Wow, this stuff's so tasty! No wonder we all love earth food stuffs so much! Thanks~!"

He smiled, "No problem about it, I'm just glad that it didn't burn. Just let me know if you'd like any more when you finish, alright?" Roa offered, his tone kindly.

"Sure, but before that, I've got a question for you first, mister." Axia set his mug down and pointed at him, now looking much more serious than before.

Roa blinked, "Er, shoot away then. I'll try to answer best I can," he replied, having some difficulty in figuring out exactly what Axia was going to ask, especially on a dime like it was.

"How come you didn't fight that meanie back in the alley with a Buddy monster of your own?" Axia questioned him, sounding almost accusing.

* * *

**And Cut! This is the end of Chapter 2. Some more of Roa's mysterious past is revealed, along with his "talent". And again, please tell me if I am keeping Axia in character or not, it's actually very hard to write him. :D As always, thoughts and comments of all manner are appreciated. And no, Axia is not Roa's buddy... yet. Maybe he will be, maybe he won't. *heh heh* Give me more reviews and maybe I'll be motivated to finish Chapter 3 all the sooner. ^_^**

**And there's a link to a quick sketch of Roa along with his bio on my profile page.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Axia's Proposal

_A name defines an object. Describes the span of it. Gives it purpose. Two years ago, we embarked upon the Creation Program to ensure that our new power stays ours and ours alone. And now, our shadow power truly lives. But it needs a name. Something to define it. To give it true purpose. Our efforts have come to bear fruit, nearly ripe for the plucking. All of our plans are proceeding smoothly - alarmingly so, in fact, though this is no time to be deterred by mere paranoia. The Program will soon approach completion._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

"How come you didn't fight that meanie back in the alley with a Buddy monster of your own?" Axia questioned him, sounding almost accusing, "For a Buddyfighter, how come don't you have a Buddy at all?"

Roa paused for a moment before responding, his voice now laced with a humorless chuckle, "So, you noticed that, huh? I guess that's to be expected..." he sighed. Today was going to be much longer than he first thought it would be, that's for sure.

To be honest, he probably could have avoided the question if he really wanted to, but for some reason, Roa didn't feel terribly apprehensive talking to Axia, as he had felt when he tried to do so with others. Was it the fact that Axia was a dragon instead of another human? Was it his rather flamboyantly feminine tendencies? Or even the fact that Roa had been bottling this up for so long? He really wasn't sure himself...

Axia's constant presence to his side was certainly something new; Roa was quickly finding a growing interest in the well-being of somebody else, a sensation that he hadn't experienced for years. It was most likely because how much Axia depended on him, and how much he already trusted him. Roa wasn't used to having anybody else in his house; not even for a day. He was used to being completely alone, and the only interactions he regularly had with others were in his occasional trips to the outside world, and he always made a conscious effort to remain neutral and bland, if not a little cold. Roa hated to think of the past, saw no future, and had little sincere care about anything at all.

Overall, Roa himself knew that he was a dreadfully dull, passionless person who cared for only himself. And if his childhood had taught him anything, it was that friendship was unnecessary, and love only leads to pain and more hurt.

And it was for that very reason that he didn't like who he was - some part of Roa was screaming out for someone to notice him as a human being and just _care_, but at the same time, the though of another being close to himself in such a way terrified Roa in a way that he couldn't explain. It just... hurt.

"...To make a long story very short, I once had a Buddy, but... well, now he's gone; and for good," Roa spoke, his tone once more hardened into that frigid monotone that saddened Axia to listen to, "I won't lie, a part of me thinks that in the long run, it may have been for the better, but... well, now it doesn't matter very much, I suppose." He finished, sounding slightly bitter by the end.

Axia's head dropped down a bit, "I-I had no idea... I'm sorry Roa," Axia apologized, "No one should ever be separated from their Buddy! Honest, I didn't mean to-"

Roa raised a hand, cutting off the dragon's apology, "It's fine Axia; you didn't know... A wise friend once told me something a long time ago. And you know? Over the years, I've come to appreciate his wisdom: 'Regrets are like ocean water. Abundant, but ultimately useless to you.' At the time, I was just a stupid kid, and I didn't really know what he meant, but... now, looking back, it's completely obvious." He shook his head, banishing the thought of said person, "Whatever happened to me in the past is over and done with, and looking back on it won't help me or anyone else."

"I guess so... But still, you never did tell me; _why_ did you help me back there in the first place? Why didn't you just leave me with that nasty boy back there?" Axia asked the human, needing to know his final answer before he made up his own mind, "And why do all this for me? Why would you help me out so much when you didn't even know who I was?"

Roa paused at the question, but nevertheless relented, "It's a bit of both a complicated and simple answer, so just let me explain, alright? I've always hated the type of person that he was. He's the kind of human that deliberately does whatever he can to put down others in a selfish attempt to bolster himself in some idiotic way. I've encountered that type of person plenty of times before myself, and I really don't think I'd be able to sleep well at night if I didn't at least do _something_ to help out someone else in that type of predicament."

As Roa explained a bit, he looked wistfully off to the side, "Also... I think it was you, yourself. Maybe it's that fact that I don't have a Buddy monster of my own anymore. Maybe it was the fact that you were right in front of me, but... well, when I saw that you were being mistreated by somebody who should have been lucky and privileged enough to have a Buddy of his own, I just... hated that. People who act like _him_ shouldn't deserve to be Buddies with anyone, especially not someone like you." Roa finished, a small, though sad smile replacing his previous look of cold detachment at the end, much to Axia's surprise and delight.

"R-really? You mean that?" Axia asked, his big, golden eyes taking on a sparkling kind of look.

He blinked, "Of course I mean that. Why would I say that if I didn't?" Roa asked him, looking a bit perplexed. Really, for as sweet as he could be, sometimes the boy tended to overlook the obvious that was right in front of him, Axia thought, though that may have been to do with his lack of proper social skills due to the way he grew up.

"...Never mind. It's nothing..." Axia trailed off a bit awkwardly. A brief and uncomfortable silence permeated the room, the now long forgotten hot chocolate growing colder by the moment. In an effort to keep the conversation going, and hopefully away from himself at that, Roa cleared his throat, deciding to voice a question that had been on his mind for some time now.

"So Axia, what about you? I mean, other than what you've told me from when you met this Gao and his buddy Drum, what's your story? I know that you hail from Magic World, but other than that, I don't really know much about you... I mean, I don't know even how old you are?" The boy inquired, not really having an in-depth knowledge of other World's customs or even traditions, much less a way to identify the age of a monster.

If he was being honest with himself, Roa was never very good with conversations, though for this monster's sake, he was at least willing to try.

Axia grinned as the mood of the room started to shift. Finally, a topic that he could get into for a while! "Oh Roa, I'm flattered you'd want to know more about little old me~! You see, in our worlds, we measure age differently than you humans, especially due to each world existing on its own unique time-axis, but if you were to try and convert it out, I guess I'd be somewhere within the teenage range or so in Human years. As far as my personal life," at there, Axia himself fidgeted a moment, "Well, there's really not much to tell - as far as monsters go, I'm honestly pretty normal..."

Now it was Roa's turn to look skeptical - the human was a skilled and experienced enough of a liar to recognize the 'beginner' tells - refusal to make eye contact with a prominent lower left directional gaze, absentminded fidgeting, and chewing on his lower lip. All things that any experienced liar learned to control with practice - practice that Axia obviously lacked.

Clearly, Axia wasn't used to being dishonest, Roa knew. He was hiding something of his own, and likely something _big_. Then again, so was Roa, so he didn't really have much of a right to judge Axia for whatever he wanted to keep to himself for now - if Axia didn't want to talk about it, then Roa decided that he wouldn't bring it up.

"And that's right, I'm from Magic World, which is basically one giant university with its surrounding towns and villages." He explained, now looking much more comfortable and honest, "You see, Magic World is unique amongst all other Worlds because it's completely open to all creatures that want to enroll from any other. Monsters from all sorts of Worlds come to train and study at Magic World because all creatures have the innate potential to cast spells. Demons, humans, mythical creatures, and especially us cuddly~dragons all travel to Magical Academy to learn the philosophy, principles, and fundamentals of spell casting. We call it the Magical Trinity."

"Really?" Roa noticed how passionately Axia spoke of his home World - clearly, while he might not have wanted to talk much about his past, the Dragowizard surely held more than a few positive memories of his home World, if the pronounced sparkle in his eyes were any indication, "You must have really loved it there, I can tell... Speaking of which, were you any good at Magical Academy? It certainly sounds like you know what you're talking about."

"'Was I any good?' Humph! I'll have you know that I was the valedictorian of my class! I even graduated with one of the highest recorded scores in MA's history!" Axia huffed as he crossed his arms and turned his head, apparently insulted by Roa's question.

Roa blinked in shock at the dragon's haughty attitude before drawing back a bit, "I'm sorry Axia, I didn't mean to imply that you weren't any good, I didn't mean to say it like that.." he trailed off, looking down apologetically at his own boots.

In a quick 180 degree turnabout, Axia grinned cheekily at Roa, "Oh pish, don't worry about it Roa! Besides, I was just teasing you," He giggled, "You don't need to look so down over me, I'm not that delicate, you know~!"

Although his face remained deliberately and carefully blank, Roa's right eye began twitching against his volition, his eyelid annoyed all on its own at being duped by the cheeky little dragon. It had been quite a long time since anybody had been able to get under his skin so quickly and efficiently. Roa prided himself on being resolute and hard to shake, and the last person that Roa could remember who touted the same skill was Touya. Although, if Roa was being completely honest with himself, it was actually a welcome change of pace. Not that he _enjoyed_ having a fast one pulled on him or anything - he didn't! Really! But Axia's mannerisms were slowly becoming endearing in their own curious way, to say the least.

Didn't mean that he wouldn't get even with Axia, though.

"...Well, it's certainly nice to see that you can stand up for yourself a little bit. And here I was beginning to think I might have to come to your beck and rescue left and right, from every little accident to all of your major kidnappings," Roa quipped in return, his sense of humor quickly coming back, much to his relief, "Why, I can practically hear you calling out, 'Save me Roa!' already."

Axia flushed at the thought of his 'prince' Roa coming to rescue Axia, the 'damsel in distress', "O-ok then, I'm glad to hear that you would have come to my rescue if that ever happened, then!" The dragon flushed cutely. Well, Roa never specifically said _that_, but then again, he probably would anyways, so the exact terminology was likely moot, "You know what, I think I've made up my mind! That's right, I've finally decided, Roa!" Axia spontaneously exclaimed, though exactly _what_ he had randomly decided upon was completely lost on the boy.

"Decided? Er... on what, Axia? A little elaboration could go a long way." Roa offered, still not used to how quick Axia's mood could change, and how spontaneous it was. It had been a long time since he had been around someone who wore their emotions of their sleeve quite as Axia did - too long, he grudgingly admitted to himself.

As the revelation hit him, a disturbing thought ran through his mind. Had he really holed himself up in his shell for too long alone that he no longer knew how to properly interact with people? Was he really so out-of-touch with the world since the Disaster that he... No, it didn't matter - even if he was, he could already tell that Axia was in all likelihood a strong influence on him, and maybe, with a little luck, he could finally start to remember how to really _feel_ again.

Axia's mere presence was quickly forcing him to break out of the shell that he had carefully and deliberately built around himself. It might not be immediate, but it was highly possible that the buddy monster would have a positive influence influence on his life.

"O-oh, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Ehe~heh, whoops!," Axia rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "But, I think I've decided on my Buddy! No, I know who I want to be Buddies with now! I wanted to find someone I could share a bond with forever, and now I'm certain who that is!"

"R-really? Wait, already? You decided on someone else being your Buddy? ...Congratulations, I guess... Was it somebody else that you met before me? Who did you pick?" He asked Axia, attempting to keep the bitterness out of his tone, though he wasn't very successful.

Had Axia met somebody else before him that he wanted to go back to? Another person that might have taken him in for a time? Roa knew that some time had passed since Axia had departed on his journey, and Roa had no idea what went on during that time. So, who... No, could it even be back to that boy Gao and his own buddy, Drum? Axia _was_ fond of him, Roa recalled...

At that particular thought, something lurched inside his heart, deep, deep down - a monster buried beneath years of anguish and isolation, and nurtured by a lifetime of fear and hatred. Something smothered by the dull buffer of time. Something dark and primal, possessive and all-encompassing, with infinite emptiness and endless longing - it didn't want Axia to go, it wouldn't let him leave. Roa clenched his fists - the Dragowizard was _his_, the monster whispered, and no one else deserved him.

Even though he barely knew him, the thought of loosing Axia made Roa feel... he didn't know how to describe it, in all honesty. Sad? Angry? Alone? Even those words did little to accurately describe the turmoil that was waging war inside his heart. He was just starting to get used to the Dragowizard's company, and the thought of him losing him terrified Roa.

Axia giggled at the teenager's antics, completely oblivious as to the human's inner fermentation, "No, silly! I want _you_ to be my Buddy~!"

* * *

**And Cut! So ends Chapter 3. I've been SWAMPED with work, and have has very little free time to write this, so I'm sorry if it seems to be a bit rushed here and there. I'll probably go back and edit it a few times in the next few days, to be honest. I'm finding it a little easier to write Axia, in my opinion, but as always, you guys are the final judges. Remember, reviews and comments are always appreciated!**

**If I could get even just one review per chapter, then that would be enough to make me happy for now. I'm finding the chemistry between Axia and Roa's personalities very fun to write, and mainly, I don't want Roa to become to mary~sue ish, though perhaps his talent of reading the future best puts him in that category. Don't worry, It won't become a regular thing, only something used for foreshadowing dreams and the occasional fortune telling.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Their Bonding

_As expected, the limits of the Program are quickly becoming more and more apparent. Further testing of the experiment's many flaws and shortcomings have been deemed necessary. However, introspection of the Program's side effects are beginning to show apparent upon myself, although they merit little concern at this point. In the end, no matter the method, results are all that are important. I must and will continue... but, what is this guilt that I feel deep within my breast? I'm sure it's nothing important..._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

Axia giggled at the teenager's antics, completely oblivious as to the human's inner fermentation, "No, silly! I want _you_ to be my Buddy~!"

Roa's eyes grew wide, "M-me? Your Buddy? Axia, are you sure about that?" Roa stuttered a bit, his expression uncharacteristically flustered and surprised from Axia's sudden decision. At the monster's declaration, the monster in his heart whitered away and died, retreating back into the dark recesses of his earliest of memories - gone, at least for now...

"Well, of course I'm sure! I just know we'd be the very best of Buddies, don't you think so?" Axia asked him, clasping his hands together as he imagined little chibi Roa and Axia, Buddyfighting together, spending time snuggled up~, and lots of other things too!

"N-no, It's not that. I mean, I really think you'd be a _great_ Buddy monster, but.. well, don't you think that's a bit to sudden?" He asked the dragon, "We only just met me a few hours ago. I just don't want you to do anything that you might regret later, that's all..." Roa trailed off, looking away from the Dragowizard.

Axia flushed a bit, "Aww, that's so sweet Roa~! But no, I've made up my mind, and there's no changing it!" He declared enthusiastically, "Besides, think about it; you don't have a Buddy of your own, and you came to my rescue while I was looking for my Buddy too! Don't you see? It was much too magical to be a coincidence, it has to be fate!" The dragon passionately orated.

Having calmed down from the surprise factor a bit, Roa began to think about the situation at hand a bit. In spite of his talents for telling the future, he hated the idea of fate or destiny with a burning passion, but he had to admit that it was a highly convenient coincidence for them both, and certainly not an unwelcome one at that. And, Roa certainly had absolutely no reason to reject Axia's offer anyways...

"Wellm if it's fine with you, then it's great with me," Roa began to grin, against his normal habit, though he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, "I'm glad that you decided on your Buddy. And now, I've decided on my own too."

"~_YAY_~!" Axia cheered, "I just knew I'd find my Buddy~wuddy!" He exclaimed, leaping up and tackling Roa in a surprise attack hug, one that Roa was powerless to dodge, much less resist. Roa knew that Axia was... effeminate, to say the least, but 'buddy~wuddy' was a tad too sugary for his tastes... then again, Roa was sure that Axia would just come up with something new if he mentioned his opinion of that. So, somewhat begrudgingly, he decided to let it slide.

Gently prying the now nuzzling dragon from his now numb shoulder, Roa cleared his throat, "So, Axia. Now that we're Buddies, do you think - I mean, would you... help me with our deck? After all, you're going to be that main part of it now, so I'd really appreciate your help with it." Roa asked him, sounding a bit embarrassed at asking help. The boy had grown up his entire life not asking anyone help for anything, so asking even Axia for assistance took every bit of control that he had.

"Of course I'll help you out! By the time we're done with it, our deck is gonna be fabulous, I'm sure of it!" Axia exclaimed.

The human nodded his thanks, "I keep all my cards and everything in my room's closet. If you want, we can head up there and start working on it right now, unless you'd rather do it later," He offered.

Deciding to take Roa up on his offer, Axia and his new buddy first cleared the table of the half finished hot chocolate, and the duo began their surprisingly long trek across Roa's manor to his bedroom, and with good reason - the inside of Roa's house was FAR more spacious than it appeared to be from the outside. Vaulted ceilings gave the entire place a somewhat grande air, and the highly polished white granite floors lent a clean, pristine feel to the place, that seemed both beautiful, and yet, somehow sad.

As the two walked side-by side, the silence that permeated the air was broken by thw two of them striking up another conversation along the way to his bedroom. Surprisingly, it was shy little Axia that initiated it this time, "So Roa, What kind of cards do you use right now? I mean, I only saw a few of the when you beat that mean boy in the alley, and I've never seen any of them before." Axia inquired, genuinely curious as to the type of cards that seemed completely foreign to him, and he has seen quite a few cards, to say the least, "Would they have anything to do with the company you run?"

"Well, funny story about that... You remember how I explained a bit about my company a while back?" At Axia's nod, he continued, "Well, you see, I didn't go into detail about it, but one of the most important things we do is the study of known Buddy monster Worlds, and the exploration to discover new ones. Most people in the public eye don't realize that there are many more Worlds out there than can't be accessed as of yet. Some Worlds we're still working on establishing a positive relations with, while others would prefer to remain separated from us completely."

"As of yet, we've managed to reach a total of nine new Worlds that we're currently in good relations with, though there are more that we're less optimistic about," Roa explained, "You see, at Ciel Co., we routinely cooperate with the Buddy Police about the discovery, charting, and eventual release of the monsters and abilities from those respective places. Personally, I think that we're the best at it, though admittedly Kyoya Gaen _did_ beat me in discovering Darkness Dragon World even before I did." Roa finished.

"Wow, whole new Worlds? Even I never thought there'd be more worlds out there, and one of the most important things I studied at Magical Academy was learning the routines and customs of other worlds." Axia's eyes were wide with wonder as his new Buddy explained his businesses to him.

"Well, if you think about it, it's really not too surprising. If there can be numerous worlds, then it's to be expected that there are countless worlds in total, not just a few here and there," Roa countered, "But anyways, since I'm the one who routinely heads the discovery of these new Worlds, I guess you could say that I have first pick of them - some of the head leaders from a few of these Worlds wished for only me to be able to use their powers and creatures, while others you can expect to be unveiled in the upcoming months, while others are still years in the process."

As Roa elaborated, his eyes shone with a youthful charisma about something that he was clearly very passionate about, "But anyways, the cards that I used back there find their home to a particular World that we dubbed 'Spirit World'. It's very unconventional, and doesn't follow the standard way most Worlds play their games, but it's unusually strong, and equally deadly to play against. But, I'll show you some of the other cards, now that we're here."

Opening a rather nondescript door, the two entered a large, though rather plain room. The walls were a spotless white, with equally pearly trim on the window edges. There were no photographs hanging on the wall, giving the walls an unfinished look. Just about the only source of color in the room came from the light blue rug that rested in the center of the room, surrounded by a clean floor that was - wait for it - white.

A king sized bed wooden rested in the right corner of the room, its sheets a velvety black, dark as midnight, with fluffy white pillows. Across the room from the bed stood a wide, wooden table with numerous drawers underneath it, and a single modern-looking lamp on top of it. The table had a few isolated decks of cards on it, along with what looked like a book or two. Above the table was a large window that overlooked the grounds below, though with the rain outside, it didn't make for a great view at the moment. And speaking of books, to the left of the table stood a tall bookcase with all kinds of books in it - some appeared quite old, while others were obviously more modern.

On the wall between the table and the bed was a plain wooden dresser, presumably filled with his clothes. And finally, on the far end of the room, right beside the door, was a large entrance to what appeared a walk-in closet.

...It looked like a monk's room.

"Geez Roa, it's nice and all, but don't you think it's a little too... I don't know, plain?" Axia deadpanned, the lack of any real color in the room besides black and white reminding him of the Onigiri that Gao's mom made.

Roa blinked, "Plain? What's wrong with it? I think it looked nice and clean. I mean, it's white." And there it was, clear for Axia to see, the utter lack of good fashion and appropriate color scheme that seemed to be Roa's greatest weakness.

It probably stemmed from the fact that Roa grew up with no real social interactions of friends or family to educate him about those little things, the things that a person just couldn't teach himself, but if Axia would have his way, which he inevitably would, then he had much to teach Roa about the joys of a fabulous room!

"...We'll get to that later. But first, let's get cracking on our deck!" The small dragon exclaimed. Against his own habit, Roa found himself grinning again, Axia's enthusiasm becoming more and more infectious as time went on.

* * *

Two hours later, the unusual pair had, at last, put the finishing touches on their new Magic World deck, having finally reached a place in where they were both comfortable with it. Axia, having many of his fellow Dragowizards included in it, and Roa including some cards of his own choice as support for the engine. The deck mainly focused upon powerful spells with a focus on a Burn style of play. All that was left of it was to try it out, but that had to wait for another day and a worthy opponent.

Roa cracked his neck as he stood up, "Axia, now that our deck's done, the only thing that I don't know about is you. I mean, I haven't even seen your card and its stats yet, or even what you really look like," he pointed out, his curiosity well founded.

Axia giggled a bit, "Alright then, you got it, one noble Dragowizard coming right up!" he declared, before he spun 'round on the spot, a small whirlwind forming around him, effectively obscuring him as he did so. By the time the wind dissipated, Roa's hair was a bit mused from the tempest, although his room was still annoyingly spotless.

Gone was the almost geeky looking little dragon that barely stood to Roa's mid thigh. Now standing at perhaps a head taller than Roa was what looked to be a noble, powerful Dragowizard, although it was still obviously his Axia. The bipedal dragon wore baggy white trousers tucked into knee tall brown armored boots. Across his chest was a matching dark breastplate resembling one a medieval knight would wear, along with a thick, V-shaped belt. Accompanying that, a dark, cape-like coat flared out, giving him a dramatic and intimidating air.

He wore large, pointed shoulder pauldrons, and a pair of full-arm length gauntlets that left his fingers exposed. His red tie was now replaced with a flowing red scarf about his neck, and his silly looking graduation cap was replaced with a powerful looking metallic helm that left his three horns exposed, and his face bare. His long, curly blonde hair remained unchanged, still the envy of girls everywhere. His dragonic features were perhaps a bit more pronounced, though his large, golden eyes with thick lashes were as cute as ever. Above his rump hung a long, light blue dragonic tail with spikes trailing along its length, and the monocle on his left eye still served to lend him a scholarly air. Finally, the pointed, bat-winged spear/staff that he held aloft looked like he meant business.

Axia gave a little bit of a spin as he proudly displayed his true form to Roa, "Well, what'cha think, Roa? Am I everything you imagined, and more?" He teased the boy a bit, taking pride at the flush that spread across Roa's face.

"...I think I'm not used to seeing you taller than me..." Roa muttered to himself, as he stared upwards at the transformed Axia, before clearing his throat and continuing, "But, I think you look great! I just never really understoodwhy most of you Buddy monsters need to have those smaller forms in the first place though."

"Oh pish, that's nothing! It's just an unspoken rule amongst us while we're in the Human world - If we didn't then some of us might scare everyone. So, we shrink ourselves down so we look small and cute while we're in public - of course, not that _I_ wouldn't look cute anyways," He puffed himself up, looking quite proud of himself, "There's a few exceptions, but most of us follow it anyways." Axia explained.

"I guess so... It still seems a bit pointless to me, though." Roa agreed. He looked as if he was going to say something else, but an especially powerful bolt of lightning streaked outside, the large window allowing the harsh flash of light to enter the room, and the echoing book shook the house and cut Roa off. Finally, it made Axia jump a bit in fright.

Glancing up at the window, Roa decided that it was time to hit the hay, as it had been a _very_ long day, and he felt that he deserved a good night's rest... for once.

"You know, it's getting late, we should probably get to rest now. After all, we've got to have a big day together tomorrow, right?" Roa asked him, though exactly what was yet to be determined. Nevertheless, he was determined to make his first real day with his Buddy a memorable one for them both.

Axia nodded, agreeing that was enough for one night's worth. "So Roa, where do I sleep? Resting in card form always leaves my back stiff and sore," He asked, looking around the room questioningly.

"Well, I have a few spare bedrooms around the house, if you wanted to sleep in one of them," Roa offered, before another round lightning once again rattled them both.

"I don't like thunderstorms very much..." Axia muttered quietly, "Do you... mind if I sleep with you for the night, Roa?" He asked shyly, a pink blush spreading on his face.

Roa couldn't help but blush himself at Axia's words before he shook his head, forcefully banished the perverse thought from his mind. Of course, Axia was probably just being honest and naive with his question, he certainly didn't seem to be implying anything. Sure, he was obviously effeminate to those he cared for, but Roa didn't mind that at all. If Axia was uncomfortable with the admittedly loud and troublesome storm, then Roa had no problem letting him sleep the night in his bed if it would help out his new Buddy.

"Of course you can spend the night in my room Axia," Roa offered kindly, "Just... make sure you take off all the pointy looking armor first... Knowing my luck, that would end badly for me otherwise."

Walking into his walk-in closet, Roa stripped out of his day's clothes and grabbed a pair of his regular pajamas, being careful to pick a shirt that covered his back completely from view... Changing quickly into a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt while shortly in his closet, Roa emerged to find that Axia had finished stripping down and had changed into a flowing white nightgown with frilly ruffles on the cuffs of its sleeves and the hem of the gown.

Flicking off the lights, the two managed themselves into Roa's large, plushy bed, there being more than enough room for them both sleep comfortably a little distance away from one another.

"G'night Roa... Buddy..." Axia mumbled, quickly falling into a deep sleep after his long day.

"...Goodnight Axia." Roa gently whispered to his new Buddy, closing his eyes in preparation for a well deserved long night's rest of his own.

He could only hope that the nightmares wouldn't follow as they usually did.

* * *

**Scene! Here's Chapter 4. Phew... Work has been KILLING me, I mean it! I'm sssooooooo glad we're hiring 5 more people, they've been making me pick up most of the slack in the meanwhile! Ugh! My personal rant aside, I hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter.**

**This one is little more than Axia/Roa interaction and bonding, along with future character development. I'm finding it more and more fun to write the banter and conversations between them, they're SUCH opposites, but at the same time, I'm finding them slightly similar...weird. I've also paved the way to introduce some original cards here and there, although I PROMISE that I won't go too overboard with them, nothing insane. As always, I strive for Comments and Reviews, so please, help a guy out here! To everyone that had reviewed so far, I can't thank you enough! Now get back out there and do it again... and again... and... well, you get it. :P**


	5. Chapter 5 - Roa's Despair

_As of late, I have begun to lose time... My memory is beginning to grow more and more voids. At times, I awake in unfamiliar places to find that several days have passed, with no idea how I got there. If my stomach is any indication, I have not even been eating in those missing times either. What has been happening to me? Where have I been? Will this continue? And how do I stop it? I cannot help but feel that this is related to the Spectre Program, but... I must continue my research. I have come much to far to stop now... My powers offer me little assistance, as, like the Program, they remain frustratingly elusive..._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

Roa sharply awoke from his troubled slumber, his eyes wide with some torrid emotion. Looking about his bedroom, given how the room was still dark, it was likely still in the middle of the night. Yet another nightmare...

Sleep had never touched Roa very soundly, and this night was much like any other - nightmares of screams of pain, bleeding angels, and like always, _him_... Just as well, his scratchy throat was also complaining about its dryness, so Roa attempted to get up so that he could fetch himself a glass of water from the kitchen, just like he usually did... the keyword being '_attempted_' - he quickly found that he could not move at all; something was holding him quite firmly in place, and it certainly wasn't sleep paralysis.

Feeling an unfamiliar weight beside him in his bed, Roa's body froze, instantly running though possible scenarios trying to remember exactly what it might be, as yesterday's events still shrouded by the murky fog of his half-consciousness. He couldn't remember what had happened; what could be restraining him? ...And, whatever it might be, why on Earth would it be in his bed with him?

Glancing behind him, the source of Roa's restraint instantly became clear, along with the memories of yesterday's adventure... and with an accompanying blush.

Axia, still in his regular form, was now resting directly behind him, no longer on the other side of Roa's wide bed. Axia's arms were wrapped snugly around Roa's upper torso in a sleep hug, while his long tail was curled tightly around both of Roa's legs. As the Dragowizard slept, a small bubble expanded and deflated slightly from his snout with each of his quiet breaths.

Axia was spooning him.

...Crap.

If the blush on his face was any indication, which it was, then Roa had never found himself in a situation like this before - he had certainly never had anybody sleep in his bed with him, in any context... What was he supposed to do?

His blush still present, Roa tried his best to gently and carefully pry himself from the grasp of the dragon in a somewhat awkward fashion, the human attempted to slowly slip out from the Dragowizard's sleep-hug as best he could, only for Axia to unconsciously respond by gripping Roa even tighter in his sleep, murrring softly to himself. Roa could have sworn that he saw his Buddy's smile grow just a little afterwards from the corner of his eye, as if happy to keep holding onto his human.

...Double crap.

With a sense of dread, Roa realized that there was no feasible way he could escape the cuddle dragon without waking Axia up. So, with an internal sigh, Roa begrudgingly resigned himself back to sleep as best he could, all the while remaining in Axia's grasp.

The fact that the warm, scaly dragon still pressed against his back and rear through his thin nightgown rested highly strangely and slightly embarrassing in Roa's mind as he tried his best to manage himself back into the world of dreams, his dry throat now the last thing on his mind.

And for once, the nightmares didn't return.

* * *

Daybreak.

A powerfully bright beam of light speared through Roa's large window and struck him dead in his face, scoring a direct hit. Groggily awakening once more, Roa arose from his bed like the dead while suppressing a curse, tiredly rubbing the sleep from his blinking eyes in a stereotypical tired-teenage manner. He was never very much of a morning person, thank you very much, and if he had his way, then he never would be - he liked his sleep. Mornings were always a time of half-consciousness for him, and Roa always hated feeling so vulnerable and exposed.

But, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong... wait, he rose from his bed? Looking back down beside him, there was no one else in his bed along with him; his bed was empty.

"Axia...?" Roa asked aloud, with no response at all.

Nothing.

There was no sleeping Buddy monster in the bed, nor was there any trace that the Dragowizard had ever been in his room at all. Climbing quickly out of bed, Roa rubbed his eyes more and tried to gather his thoughts - surely, Axia couldn't just _vanish_ like that... could he? he knew that, as a Magic World monster he could perform magic, and he could turn back into a card and fly away, but...

After a thorough search of his room, Roa turned up no evidence of Axia's presence from the night before either - none of Axia's clothes from yesterday, none of his elaborate armor, and certainly not his large halberd... there was nothing out of the ordinary in his room at all, and that worried Roa more than anything.

He sat back down on the bed, his eyes wide in shock as he mentally began to question himself. Had Axia... left him? Did he get cold feet? Could Axia have changed his mind, and decided that he didn't want to be Roa's Buddy after all? Could he have ran away during the middle of the night? '_No one could have taken him,_' he rationalized, '_Not with how tightly he was... hugging me, and certainly not without waking me up._' Or... was he never even there in the first place?

It couldn't all have been an elaborately detailed dream or vision... could it?

...Then again, Roa always _did_ have such accurate dreams and visions... But, that didn't mean it was all fake... Did it? His first trip the the Castle card store, and meeting the Manager... His trek through the rain, and him handing that street brat his own ass... His and Axia's genuinely fun conversations, and real, genuine bonding... Hell, even Axia's very first hot chocolate... was it all just... nothing? Fake? The horrible thoughts were quickly filling him with a hollow dread, and a pulsating pain in his chest. Axia was gone... He had never felt anything like this before...

How could he possibly be so stupid? Was he really that foolish? With his superior I.Q. and his unusual visions, Roa knew that to experience such an elaborate, detailed reality was not at all beyond him - he knew that! But still, why did it all felt so _real_...

Suddenly, his house seemed to be so very cold and so very empty, as for the first time in a long time, Roa realized that he was actually lonely, now much more so than ever.

Disappointment and dread finally settled their way into the deepest pit of his stomach. He really was alone... again. How utterly fitting.

"Please... come back, Axia..." Roa whispered to nothing in particular. Gripping his sheets tightly, he bit his lower lip as he forced away the tears in the back of his eyes. He hadn't cried in well over 10 years, he swore that he wouldn't _ever_ cry ever again. He shouldn't cry over Axia; none of it had even happened. There was no point in crying over something if it never even happened... Right?

Karma was probably laughing its ass off right about now. And Roa knew that it wasn't like he didn't deserve it, because he did; not after everything that he had done, all the lives that he had brought unhappiness upon...

Now climbing out of his bed for the second time this morning, Roa walked out of his room and stiffly padded himself down the hallway to his kitchen, ignoring the taste of iron in his mouth and not really even paying attention to his surroundings. He knew the layout his own house well enough to traverse it without even looking, but he was far too engrossed in his own brooding thoughts to actually pay attention to anything before him. Today would be just another day then, absolutely no different than any of the rest - his own personal purgatory.

Was this some cruel cosmic joke upon him by his own one talent? Showing him a small, tiny glimpse of happiness, only to snatch it away? To forever be stuck in some kind of twisted time loop of despair and isolation?

As Roa entered his spacious kitchen, his movements were almost robotic and absent, enough so that he didn't even see what was right in front in front of him, even though it wasn't something that was normally there.

"Good morning, Roa! Would you like bacon with your eggs~?" Axia asked Roa pleasantly, as he turned over an omelet on Roa's stove, still in his original form. Though fittingly, he was wearing a tight, frilly-white apron with little pink hearts on it. A stereotypical, 'Kiss the Cook' was also emblazoned on the front in big, bold letters.

Roa's eyes grew unusually wide as he froze on the spot. Right before him was Axia! But... he was gone! "A-Axia, you're here!?" he very nearly shouted.

"'Course I'm here, silly! ...Why wouldn't I be? Look, I even made the both of us breakfast!" The dragon replied charmingly, although he looked a bit confused. Why did Roa think that he left?

"I-I woke up, and... you weren't there," Roa stuttered, his brain not responding properly, seemingly unable to wrap his head around what was happening, "You were gone. I thought that you left, or... that it wasn't real," He whispered the last part, his gaze downcast, unable to meet his Buddy's eyes, "I though it was just another dream..."

Axia quickly turned off the stove and got up to Roa, quickly understanding what had happened, "Hey, it's OK, I'm still here," Axia muttered to him softly, "I'm sorry, I should have waited for you to wake up. But, today is out first official day together as Buddies, so I wanted to surprise you with a morning breakfast. You don't have to worry, I'm not going anywhere; we're Buddies forever, right?" The Dragowizard was quick to assure Roa, his tone surprisingly firm and reliable.

Axia knew that Roa had more than a rough childhood, to say the least, but he didn't know that the human was so emotionally fragile. Axia was always used to being the clingy one himself, but from now on, he resolved himself, he would be there for his Buddy, no matter what! The boy nodded a bit hesitantly, a smile spreading across his face, "R-right, we're Buddies... I'm sorry that I doubted you, Axia." He muttered shyly.

"Aw, shucks! Well, if you really want to make it up to me, then how about we go and have a great first day together, OK?" The Dragowizard asked Roa, quickly returning to his usual upbeat nature.

Roa laughed, "Alright then, it's a deal," he smiled, his brief moment of weakness now past and heading to forgotten, "So, how about we have our breakfast together and put this behind us, ok?" He offered.

The two managed themselves to Roa's kitchen table and began to partake of the breakfast that Axia had prepared them both. Roa certainly had no idea that Axia could cook, and cook so well at that - Roa himself wasn't half-bad when it came to making food either. But then, he figured, you learn something new every day, right?

Prepared for each of them was a large glass or hand-squeezed orange juice and a sizable stack of rather thick pancakes, which were accompanied by a slice of perfectly browned toast and a side of bacon, all topped with a healthy drizzle of maple syrup. But, looking at his plate, Roa noticed that something seemed to be different about his...

"Err, Axia... why are my pancakes shaped like hearts?" Roa sweatdropped.

* * *

One delicious breakfast later, our favorite duo had changed back into a fresh day's clothes; Axia having reverted back into his previous SD form, while Roa now wore a long sleeved black shirt with dark blue pants tucked into the same boots from yesterday, although unlike yesterday, he donned a long, high-collared yellow-trimmed blue coat overtop it all.

"So Roa, where are we headed out to today?" Axia asked, "Any big plans?"

"Well, I thought a good place would be the ongoing Gaen Cup. It's being held by my old business rival, Kyoya, which honestly doesn't thrill me much, but from what I've found out, that boy Gao and his Buddy Drum are going to be competing in it. I thought that you might like to see them again and help cheer them on," Roa explained, remembering how vibrant Axia was when he talked about that Gao boy and his Buddy, 'Drum-kins'.

"Really? Oh, thanks Roa! You don't know how much I missed Drum-kins and everyone else while I was stuck with you!" He squealed in joy, doing a short little jig.

"H-hey, what's wrong with _me_!?" Roa asked, and though a fat vein pulsed on his head, the both of them still laughed the joke off together.

"But now I get to show off my Buddy to them! I bet that they never thought I'd find my Buddy, but I showed them!" Axia beamed, before a thought struck him, "...But wait Roa, how are we gonna get there? I think that the Gaen Cup's all the way on the other side of town. Who are you gonna have drive us there? I don't have a Buddy Skill yet, so we can't just fly there..." Axia trailed off, looking a bit apologetic at his apparent uselessness for not yet having some cool Buddy Skill, like many other monsters out there. It was the one thing he hadn't yet learned how to do...

"Hey, don't worry about that Axia. It doesn't matter to me if you have a Buddy Skill or not, you know that I'll never think any less of you." Roa was quick to assure him, "But, if it really bothers you that much, then I'll help you out myself to train so that you can develop one of your own," Roa offered/planned.

"...Thanks, Roa," Axia flushed, "You're the best, you know that?"

"Yeah," Roa agreed unapologetically, "I am."

The two soon reached the part of Roa's manor that Axia suspected as most likely to be a garage yesterday. Up close, it looked even bigger then it did the day before, which seemed to be a recurring theme with Roa's house.

Opening the door and flicking on the lights, Roa asked Axia a question that Axia never thought he'd be hearing, but certainly didn't mind in the slightest bit. As the magic World monster stared at the bizarre, chunky, yet somehow beautiful contraption of metal pipes, streamlined parts, and a sparkling dark-blue paint job, Roa asked.

"Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?"

* * *

**And so ends Chapter 5! Whew... writing this stuff is harder than I thought! Especially with a schedule like mine... Anyways, as requested by one of my most regular reviewers, there's more Axia/Roa interaction/cuteness/fluff, but at the same time, I'm starting to feel that the story should begin to move along with the actual plot of the show. Don't get me wrong there's still DEFINITELY going to be lots of cuteness, although the plot is supposed to be important, you know? I kind of feel tat I gave away too many hints with this chapter's journal entry, but then again, you guys **_**really**_** need to put the pieces together. What could I be planning? How will my changes to the plot affect the future of this story? What could Roa's past be hiding? How will Axia fare riding a motorcycle with Roa? Will I ever shut up and get to the point? All this, and possibly more, might be answered in the next exciting installment of: DRAGON BALL Z! ...Wait a minute, wrong anime... Meh, you get what you pay for.**

**'But I didn't pay for anything...' - Readers.**

**'EXACTLY!' - Me.**

**Oh, and one last thing: I decided to change my Avatar for here and the link to Roa's bio on Deviantart. I replaced them both with a new piece of art that, I think, **_**much**_** closer looks what Roa would look like if he were a real character in the Buddyfight anime. Please, tell me what you think! Good? Bad? Meh? The link to the picture is still on my author's page here, so go and check it out! If you're still reading this, then there's no way you have anything better to do with your time, right? ;3**


	6. Chapter 6 - For The Sake Of Plot

_Having successfully bridged the gap between the many existing worlds, I cannot help but feel responsible for our existing state of affairs. My involvement in The Disaster, while surely untraceable, has lefts its scars even upon myself. Rumors have begun to spread, and although there is indeed truth behind them, there is nothing to concern myself over. I have played my hand with great care, and have left no evidence behind. But no more; today it all ends. The rewards my Program once offered are no longer worth the risks... and the results._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

"My father always said he'd kill me if I ever got caught riding a motorcycle with another boy!" Axia shouted with glee as he clung to Roa's back, the two of them roaring down the fortunately empty streets at what must have been an illegal speed, but they were having _way_ too much fun to slow down, or even care for that matter.

"What did he ever say about riding a motorcycle with your Buddy, though!?" Roa quipped back at Axia, the close proximity of the two letting them still talk, despite the gushing wind in both their faces.

"...He didn't!" Axia caught on, the pair delighted in their fun recklessness and defiance of Axia's parental authority.

As the two continued to ride, Roa grinned and, with a rush of adrenaline, he urged the bike into a pronounced wheelie, Axia squealing and gripping Roa especially tightly around the waist so as to not fall back off the bike. After a short distance, Roa dropped the bike back down unto both wheels and sped up even more, smirking broadly to himself, '_Heh, these moments are always the best!_' He thought to himself, '_Leaving my past behind was the best decision I ever made for myself - I wouldn't even _have_ a motorcycle if I did..._'

As Roa mused to himself, as for a moment, he thought back to his childhood, and the first time he had seen a motorcycle on a magazine that someone threw away. He knew immediately that he wanted one, and swore to himself he would have one someday - that he would have a motorcycle, and that he would be free. Free to ride away wherever he wanted, and no one would ever stop him! Not that clown Dimitri, not the cold people who glared at him, no one! Hell, had he not left his childhood by the wayside, then for all intents and purposes, he might as well have been dead. Although, as his new Buddy laughed behind him at the exuberant joy of riding a motorcycle for the first time, Roa's heart grew a little warm, knowing full well the feeling that Axia was experiencing.

There was never anything quite like one's first time on a bike.

Before long, the massive stadium loomed ominously before them, the eager crowd of fellow Buddyfight enthusiasts that were outside the entrance more than a bit larger than Roa expected. Then again, Kyoya was always in the public's eye earning everyone's favor, as opposed to him. Roa, on the other hand, never much cared what most people thought of him, and was more than happy to keep himself, and his company, mostly in the dark. He knew that Kyoya put a great deal of effort into constructing that elaborate image of a kind, charitable leader whenever in public... Lying two faced little shit...

Pulling into a vacant spot in the parking lot, Roa and Axia dismounted from the motorcycle, removing each of their helmets and straightening out their windblown clothes a bit, and in Axia's case, his hair as well, "That was fun Roa, but all that wind messed my hair up~!" Axia complained as he desperately ran his fingers through his mane of curly blonde hair, trying to get out whatever unseen knots the wind had put into it.

"Trust me Axia, your hair looks fine," Roa consulted him, Axia's golden blonde hair looked as soft and fluffy as it ever did, "but here, if you want," Roa reached into his backpack, and pulled out a hairbrush, "I've got a spare brush you can use." Accepting the brush with a thanks, Axia began the carefully brush out his long golden locks as the two of them traversed the lot and approached the slightly frenzied mob surrounding the ticket booth.

"Wow... everyone's acting like a big pack of buffoons." Axia observed, not at all impressed as he observed the pinnacle of human evolution.

"Unfortunately, that's to be expected," Roa agreed, "Now attempt to imagine a crowd much like this, but compressed into narrow hallways and cramped, sweaty rooms, with everyone still in their awkward, hormonal teenage years. That about sums up a regular human School." He finished.

Axia shuddered a bit, "You know, I think I'm really glad I went to Magical Academy now..." Axia muttered, Roa nodding in complete agreement.

"Well, nothing to do but wait our turn, I guess..." Roa trailed off, not looking at all amused by the prospect of being assimilated into that pulsating, frenzied crowd of waiters, but certainly having little choice in the matter.

* * *

"Well, that wasn't so bad - at least, not as bad as I thought it would be." Roa admitted, as the two of them walked down the hall of the coliseum, a pair of premium, front-row tickets now resting in his pocket, "Now... where to- ho?" He cut himself short as he noticed a roped off hallway that sported a sign that read: **PARTICIPANTS AND FRIENDS ONLY: NO ENTRY ALLOWED**. A grin quickly spread across his face. This was too perfect a chance to cut back and have some fun, especially if it meant at Kyoya's expense.

"How about we go this way, Axia?" Though strangely, his enthusiasm didn't seem to spread to his Buddy.

"But Roa, we cant go that way, we're not competing! We could get in big trouble..." Axia muttered, somewhat apprehensive at trespassing on Kyoya's property.

"Don't worry about it, I've got a good feeling about it. Besides," He grinned, "there's nothing I like more than breaking the rules. C'mon!" He waved the Dragowizard over as he hopped the cheap looking red rope barrier, his Buddy following him, torn between his mixed excitement and apprehension.

"W-wait for me, Buddy!" Axia stuttered as he took after Roa, trying to keep pace in his smaller SD form.

Before they even made it 100 feet into the restricted area, a large explosion some ways off rocked the floor - certainly not nearly powerful enough to threaten the structural integrity of the building or anything, but enough to shake the floor and walls a bit, "W-what was that?" Axia yelped, more in surprise then in genuine fear.

"I don't know... wait here until I come back, OK? It'll be safer here if anything happens. If I'm not back in 5 minutes or so, then go and get help." Roa's voice and expression quickly hardened into a sort of battle mask, as he took off towards the source of the commotion. He heard Axia shout something back, but he didn't hear it as he took off down the hall, pulling something out of his pocket...

* * *

"What's happening?" Gao exclaimed as he took out from the Balle du Soleil waiting room. He looked around briefly, before sprinting to the right.

"Wait for me!" Drum exclaimed, as he, Baku, Kuguru, and the rest of their group took off after Gao. Seeing a cloud of smoke and dust in the air ahead of them, all of them ran as quickly as they could toward whatever commotion was happening.

"**Purgatory Sword, activate!**" Purgatory Knight announced, his muffled tone warped and distorted by his helm. His Dark Core Deck Case promptly activated and brought a large, red-black broadsword into the knight's hand, although it looked somewhat familiar...

"Master Kyoya won't like this-" Sofia tried to warn the two, but she was quickly cut off.

"He gave me permission to do this!" Rouga growled, "I have to see if he's got what it takes to fight alongside me! Think of it as a little test, that's all..." Rouga didn't seem to notice as Gao and everyone else came up behind him, as he was too focused on the target of his aggression.

"Hey, are you alright?" Gao asked, as him and everyone else took in the scene. To their right, a large doorway was blown to pieces, with rubble scattered all about the hallway-obviously the source of the loud bang from before. Before them all, with his back turned, was obviously Rouga, brandishing a second spear aloft, in addition to his Dark Core Gadget. Facing him was an ominous looking figure, his form completely obscured by thick, gold trimmed black armor and a red cloak. Gao's eyes widened. Though he had never seen the knight before, the person inside it, they couldn't be...?

Purgatory Knight turned towards him, although he didn't say anything , nor did he give any indications as to who he may be. Though beneath his obscuring helm, he seemed to be staring at Gao...

"W-what's with the guy in the suit?" Drum asked aloud, though Gao was still to busy staring at the knight to even try and respond.

"This isn't the time, or the place for this!" Sofia sharply reminded the two of them. "Come on, they're expecting us on the stage." She spoke, her tone final. Purgatory Knight wordlessly deactivated his Purgatory Sword and turned to follow her, still without making a sound, aside from the clangs as he walked.

"Get back here!" Rouga yelled as the knight and Sofia walked away from him, not even bothering to glance back at him.

* * *

Purgatory Knight and Sofia walked together, each one holding a similar silence to one another. Suddenly, Sofia stopped and looked sharply about, as if sensing something amiss, though strangely, there seemed to be nothing out of place in the empty hall.

"**What is it?**" Purgatory Knight asked in his unidentifiable, muffled voice.

Sofia seemed to calm down at his voice, "...It is nothing. Come, Master Kyoya is surely expecting us by now." And with that, the two of them continued down and out the hallway, leaving whatever was not there behind them.

* * *

In the exact spot where Sofia had stopped, out from the shadows that was cast by one of the pillars in the hallway stepped Roa. He had seen and heard everything that had transpired, ever since that hothead Rouga and the knight had begun their little scuffle. '_Interesting..._', He thought, '_So, it seems you're still up to your little tricks, Kyoya...Nice to know that you haven't changed any._'

Walking back down the way he had first came, Roa walked right past Rouga, the silverette too deeply ensnared within his own thoughts and too busy looking at his own feet to even notice the completely silent boy as they walked right by each other. By the time he finally looked up from his shoes, there was no one there to see anymore, nor was there any reason to think that there was ever anyone there at all.

And thus, he didn't.

A short distance later, Roa came upon a large group, one that he assumed to be Gao and his friends. At the sound of echoing footsteps approaching them, Gao looked up to see an unfamiliar boy in front of him. "Hey, who are you?" Gao asked/demanded. He had never seen this guy before, but at least he wasn't dressed like those Disaster guys. Still, Gao had the strange feeling that he was someone that he should be careful with...

The boy blinked innocently, "Who, me? I was just on my way to the audience. I heard a bit of a commotion, and ran back here to see what was going on. Is everyone ok?" Roa asked, although he already knew that everyone was perfectly fine.

"Yeah, everyone's fine. There was a... disagreement between two of the members of another team, but everything's good now." Asmodai cut in, trying to keep the apparently prying boy away from what had actually happened here, though all the rubble scattered around made his words fairly transparent. As Asmodai studied the boy, there was something... off, about him. He seemed completely genuine and innocent - too innocent. The demon knew immediately that the boy wasn't someone to be trifled with, and should preferably be avoided. His instincts rarely failed him, and right now, Asmodai's instincts were tickling at the back of his neck saying this boy was a lair and was rotten through and through.

"Alright, if you say so..." Roa trailed off, before his gaze carefully wandered over to Gao's, and his eyes lit up with a false realization, "Excuse me, but would you happen to be Gao Mikado?" Roa asked politely, although he already knew what the boy's answer was going to be.

"Y-yeah, that's me. But, who are you?" Gao blinked, wondering if he had possibly met this older blonde boy at some point in the past and simply forgot, as had happened before.

Oh, excuse me! How rude of me," Roa chuckled, scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner and grinning a bit crookedly, "My name is Roa; Roa Ciel. It's very nice to meet you, Gao. I've heard many great things about you. And I'm looking forward to seeing you in this competition - I've traveled very far for this opportunity to meet you in person, and now I'm certain that I _won't_ be disapointed." Roa offered the younger boy his hand, a friendly expression plastered on his face.

Accepting the handshake somewhat wearily, Gao shook his hand back, "Er, nice to meet you, Roa." Maybe Gao was just being paranoid, he seemed friendly enough... Relinquishing the handshake, Roa decided that this was enough as far as the friendly introductions went.

Time for the next step...

"You know Gao, your next match is probably beginning soon. And, I know that we just met, but you and your friends are still competing, so we should probably cut this introduction a bit short." Roa changed the topic, though he was correct. Looking down at his watch, Baku found himself agreeing with the newly introduced character.

"He's right bro, we really should be headed out by now." Baku said, "We can catch up later if you're still around, though." Baku offered to the older boy, oblivious as to Roa's manipulation of the conversation.

Taking off a bit, Gao and co. waved back to Roa, "See you later Roa! It was nice to meet you!" He grinned at the older boy as he and his friends departed around the corner.

Raising a hand amicably, Roa offered a friendly grin of his own in response, "See you around, kid. And good luck in your matches!" And they were gone, around a corner and presumably back into their waiting room to observe the matches.

Roa's smile quickly fell, "Nice kid... a bit too trusting though. He'll have to work on that," Roa muttered as he himself got back. Axia was probably waiting for him, and if Roa was right, he would be having a fit by now...

* * *

"Where were you, Roa? I thought something horrible had happened! And what was that explosion? And-" Axia furiously shot his questions at Roa, much faster than any machine gun. Raising his hands in total surrender, Roa tried to speak up.

"Whoa, whoa, one question at a time, Axia!" Roa looked more than a bit overwhelmed. Seeing his Buddy calm down a bit, Roa began, "Well, when I got there, it was all just about over. Apparently, there was a bit of a disagreement between a couple members of one of the teams, and another team was already there before me. I guess they had the same ideas as me," He explained, "I bumped into them on the way back, but we only had a minute or so to talk together. From what I saw, two of the members of Team Purgatory has a bit of a falling out, although I didn't catch what it was about." Roa finished his explanation.

"Oh, I see..." Axia muttered, "But next time, take me with you! I was so worried about you, I mean, you just told me to stay put! We're buddies Roa, so we should face everything together, side-by-side!" He protested.

"But, I thought it might be dangerous, Axia. I just wanted to try and protect you..." Roa trailed off, as Axia shook his head in response.

"We're supposed to protect each other; we're Buddies! Roa please, next time, don't treat me like I'm weak, I'm not that fragile..." Axia looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Axia. It was just instinct. I promise, next time anything happens, we'll face it together, ok?" Roa promised the little dragon, genuine guilt rising in his throat.

"Yay~! I knew you'd see things my way, Roa!" Axia quickly jumped up and embraced Roa, all traces of his previous mood instantly long gone. Chuckling a bit at the complete turnabout of his Buddy's personality, Roa, now along with Axia, made their way towards their front row seats in the stand, before an expensive-looking concession stand caught Roa's eye.

"So, Axia, do you like popcorn?"

* * *

**Boom! Here's chapter six. It takes place , as you may have guessed, during episode 50, which I felt was a pretty good time to introduce Roa into the main cast of characters. I had today off of work, so I spend a chunk of it writing this chapter up. A bit of Roa's sneakiness and deceptiveness was shown in today's chapter, which I wanted to emphasize a bit. He's no pretty-boy hero or goody-two shoes, thank you very much! ;P Expect him to bend the truth, spy, cheat in certain things, and blackmail his way out of trouble... XD**

**Axia also seems to be guilt tripping Roa more and more often... smart little dragon. XD**

**As always, please tell me what you think! Did I keep everyone in character? Did I introduce Roa successfully into the plot? What are your thoughts/ideas on Roa's past and his journal entries? Reviews are my life and blood for writing, which means that I crave them! Even if its something short, please tell me your thoughts! Messenger; OUT!**

**P.S. Quick Update: The other day, I purchased a Drum's Adventure set box, and wouldn't you know it, one of the best cards I pulled was Axia, which I felt was awesome. Amongst Dragowizard Drum, Brave Drum, Bladewing Phoenix, and two forms of Jacknife Dragon, I had lots of good pulls... But, of course, Axia was the highlight of the box. Is the universe telling me that Axia should be my Buddy? I hope so! Just thought I'd share this. ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7 - New Friends?

_Data does not dream; cannot dream. This world is _**_real_**_. For the longest time, I had not the slightest idea where I was - that I had already wandered far off the path. All that time, I had become trapped inside the nightmares I gave myself, all the while without ever knowing that I had made my heart a prison - even if I__ was not the prisoner. All the data I have collected - I cannot bring myself to destroy it, even after everything that has happened. Hidden away, perhaps now I can begin to clear my consciousness - Spectra will forever dissapear._

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

**GAME OVER! WINNER: Sofia Sakharov!**

The automated voice declared as the Buddyfight game ended. Sofia looked as bored and plain as she usually did, her expression holding as many tells as a brick wall. The large barrier surrounding the Buddyfight field quickly began to fade away. Even the audience seemed stunned, as hushed whispers muttered left and right around the grand room.

"This is completely unbelievable! The great ninja, Kanahebi, was barely able to make a single move!" The Gaen Cup's announcer, Paruko, declared as the fighter in question, Kanehebi, dropped down onto his knees in defeat, his eyes wide in sheer amazement of the result.

"Ugh... S-she's strong!" Kanahebi still seemed to be in shock as he stared blankly at the ground in front of him.

"But, he's good," Zanya protested back in Team Balle du Soleil's waiting and observation room, "_Way_ better than he was before! How'd she defeat him so easily?" Zanya seemed, for lack of a better term, flabbergasted.

"Who would have thunk it?" Paruko continued her announcement, as the solemn Sofia's platform began to descend into the lower levels, "In a surprising turn of events, the former Vice-President of Aibo Academy's Middle School is one top-notch Buddyfighter. She gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Girl Power'!" Paruko continued, her vibrant pink hair bobbing a bit in her excitement. Still on his knees, Kanahebi's platform mirrored Sofia's and began to descend downward, until he was out of sight completely.

"Next up from Team Purgatory, a friendly foe and former student of Sengoku Academy, the formidable Rouga Aragami!" Paruko announced as Rouga and his Buddy, Armorknight Cerberus, rose with the platform to replace Sofia, with Cerberus transforming into his regular, much larger and imposing form upon doing so.

"It's gonna be a tough one for our team from SenCad, they need to win _both_ of their next two matches to move on. Representing them is the oh-so powerful competitor, Shosetsu Kirisame! Let's see how this one plays out!" Paruko continued her expected narration, as the silver haired boy from Sengoku Academy arrived upon his own platform. But... strangely Rouga didn't even seem to have noticed Shosetsu's arrival yet. This was odd, as Rouga wasn't someone to usually be distracted, especially right before a Buddyfight.

'_What's got his attention?_' The silver haired Shosetsu thought to himself. Tracing Rouga's line of sight, the Legend World user observed that he seemed to be looking up at - Kyoya Gaen? Yes, he was definitely staring up at the white and red haired boy up in the grand spectating seat...

"Kyoya... I wish I knew what you were up to..." Rouga muttered quietly, too immersed in his thoughts to even pay attention to his upcoming match or his opponent.

"You ready?" Armorknight Cerberus barked out towards Rouga, looking quite eager for the upcoming battle. At the sound of the Buddy's words, Rouga seemed to snap out of the stupor that he was caught in.

"Let's do this." Rouga spoke, and although his words were quiet, his tone was firm.

Now that his opponent seemed to be ready to fight, Shosetsu clenched his fist, '_I've been waiting a long time for this._' he thought.

"The power of the Ace will destroy you! Dark Lumenize! Ace Defeat!" Rouga declared, twirling his spear and lumenizing his cards for their game, Cerberus behind him roaring in agreement.

"A thousand swords, defeating the enemy with a thousand vows! Lumenize! Fortress of Swords!" Shosetsu was swift to follow, using his Buddy/blade, Immortal Sword Durendal, to lumenize his own hand as well.

"OK everybody, say it with me! _Buudddyyyy_~" Paruko began.

"**FIGHT!**" The audience shouted out.

* * *

"Well now, I think that this should shape out to become a very interesting match," Roa spoke, him and Axia in prime front row seats to observe what would hopefully be a good game, "I just wonder, which one of them will claim victory, do you think?"

"Well, back when Gao-wow and Drum were up against that Sengoku Academy, that boy, Shosetsu, was really powerful. Gao~wow barely managed to defeat him," Axia spoke in between munching on popcorn, "He even had the power to bring his cards into reality, until that Tasuku boy stopped him and broke that Dark Core Deck Case. Idunno, what do you think, Roa?"

"It's hard to say... this match is going to be a close one, I think. If my instincts are correct, then both of their strengths and powers are very similar similar right now. And whenever such a twosome crosses paths as opponents, the match will always end up with one pulling ahead of the other at the very last minute. Predicting who will win ahead of time is usually impossible," Roa explained, "Although..."

"Huh? What is it?" Axia asked, hearing the definite pause in Roa's words.

"Well, I understand that boy, Rouga, is currently in possession of a Dark Core Deck Case. From what I understand of its mechanics, it gives him the power to actualize not only his Monsters, but the power of his Spells and Item cards into this world as well by tapping into a latent power source of some kind. And I think that may be what gives Rouga the edge here. That Kirisame boy failed to control its power in the past, so, at least at the time, his inner strength couldn't match up to Rouga's."

"I guess so..." Axia muttered, although he still didn't look terribly thrilled.

Roa noticed this, "What's wrong, Axia? You don't look very happy..." He pointed out, correctly.

Axia flushed a bit, before looked down, "Oh, it's nothing... I guess, all this talk about Dark Core Deck Cases, and seeing those Team Purgatory members are just bringing up some real bad memories, that's all..." he replied, recalling the time he spent in Kyoya Gaen's captivity with a certain amount of dread and fear.

"...That time on the cruise ship, huh?" Roa asked quietly, remembering how Axia went into great detail about that cruise of horror. What with him nearly being given away like some common fair prize, to Axia's break toward freedom and a Buddy of his own choice, to that _ведьма_ Sofia nearly burning and throwing Roa's Buddy overboard. How Drum had heroically swooped down to save the damsel of a Dragowizard, to Gao doing the same for Drum in turn. How Axia had developed... _feelings_ toward his savior, Drum, upon rescuing him from what Axia described as "certain doom", none too different, he thought wryly, from when Roa had saved Axia on the streets just the other day.

And who says history doesn't repeat itself?

Roa closed his eyes and sighed softly, "I understand how you must feel, Axia. I'm sorry if this is bringing up any bad memories, I wanted this day to be a memorable one for us both." Roa apologized, "But, if it makes you feel any better, I believe that Gao and Drum's team should be fighting tomorrow. We can cheer them on together, right?" He placed a reassuring hand on the Dragowizard's shoulder, trying to put a positive spin on the situation for his Buddy.

Axia seemed to perk up at the mention of Drum and Gao, "That's right, we'll both be rooting for 'em together! Although knowing them, they'll show up at the last minute in a really showy fashion, though." He finished with a smile and a wink.

Roa chuckled, "I wouldn't put it past them, but we'll see."

However, Shosetsu was not the only one to notice Rouga's long stare-down with Kyoya; Roa too his his own thoughts, and a plan too, "I'll be back in a minute Axia; I'm going to take a bathroom break."

* * *

On the way to the 'restroom', Roa faintly heard the end of Rouga and Shosetsu's match, with Rouga being declared the winner the game. As he expected. Well whatever, whoever would be playing in the next team match was irrelevant to Roa, he had _much_ bigger fish to fry. It was time that he went straight to the source; no more snooping on bottom-feeding underlings.

Walking all the way across the stadium, Roa quietly slipped toward his destination, making certain to keep in the shadows and corners and that the few people that were out and about didn't so much as notice him. Call it a habit from his childhood, but if there was one thing that Roa considered a positive lesson from his early years, then it was to put caution first and trust second. Additionally, sneaking in and out of places was a boon that he had to admit came in quite handy at times - learning how to predict the way people's heads would turn when, being light on your feet, ans as well, as quickly identifying the path fewest people would see was a deadly combination for traveling unobserved.

He could tell he was missing an interesting match-up, but this would be completely worth it in the long run, in his own opinion. Watching an interesting Buddyfight was one thing, but a chance to spy on Kyoya? That was a treat all in of itself. If he wanted to take the chance to spy on Kyoya, then he needed to do it when the time was right - to strike the iron when it was hot, as it was.

A twinge of guilt struck him for making Axia sit there alone while he was off on his personal vendetta; he had promised to make their first day together memorable... but he shook it off after a moment or two. He's spin a yarn about how he got caught up doing something or other, that was always what he was best at; making up stories and putting on faces... Finally he had arrived, and at the end of the next match, if the loud cheering from the inside of the stadium's seating was any indication.

* * *

"This wasn't part of the plan at all..." Kyoya muttered, looking quite bored as he slumped lazily in his rather throne-like chair.

"I-I'm very sorry, sir. I have no idea how a stray cat - I mean, tiger - wandered in like that." Sueroku Shido apologized, bowing and fumbling highly awkwardly, nigh reminiscent of his son, "W-what's that?!" Sueroku suddenly yelped as three small dragon heads appeared, glowing with an ominous looking red-black fire. Kyoya didn't seem startled at all, more annoyed at the appearance of his Buddy.

"There'd better be a good reason for this." Kyoya warned threateningly, not at all in the mood for any bad news. Things had already gone bad enough, and he wasn't in the mood to hear any more failures.

"Indeed," Kyoya's Buddy, Azi Dhaka rumbled, "my battle arena has been completely destroyed." Kyoya frowned, making sure to keep the majority of his frustrations bottled tightly within. This was surely a major setback to his plans. But, who could it have been?

* * *

'_Battle arena?_' Roa thought, listening in on Kyoya and his underling's musings from just outside the room. From the context of things, the outcome of the last match hadn't gone according to Kyoya's plans, much to Roa's delight. And this mention of a battle arena... Could this have something to do with that Grim Reaper that, until recently, had been stealing the Buddy Monsters and Core Deck Cases from those he defeats?

'_It was possible_,' Roa considered, '_But now, the arena is apparently destroyed..._'

This required further investigation.

The conversation between Kyoya and Azi Dhaka died out, although Roa was certain that no one inside the room had detected his presence just outside. Having apparently heard all there was to hear, Roa slipped back to Axia, and to the end of this day's matches.

* * *

"You're finally back from the bathroom, Roa? Where were you? You missed the whole last match!" Axia almost accused, " I had to watch it all alone."

Looking a bit sheepish, Roa scratched the back of his head, "Sorry , there was a long line and I had to wait a while. On the way back, I bumped into an old... _friend_, and an interesting conversation took place. But, I heard from somebody else that boy with the kitten shirt won the last match." Roa half lied, before he decided to subtly change the subject, "You know what? I bet if we hurry, we can catch Gao's team before they head out of here. What do you say we try and see them off?"

Axia quickly perked up and grinned, "Oh, I can't wait to see Drum~kins and Gao~wow again! Let's go, Roa!" Axia quickly took off, effectively leaving Roa in the dust.

"H-hey, wait up Axia! Do you even know where you're going?" He shouted out as he tried to catch up, somehow failing despite the massive difference in their leg lengths.

* * *

"Man, I'm beat!" Gao yawned, stretching his arms up in a stereotypical tired fashion, "What a day!" The Balle du Soleil Team had just exited the Gaen Stadium, and were nearly ready to head back to Gao's place for a victory party/celebration.

"It is time for dinner yet?" Drum asked in his usual hunger focused way.

"We're throwing a small dinner party back at home," Gao answered, "We'll head back any minute."

"Oh, come on, let's go already, I'm staaarrrviiinnnggg~!" Drum wined. Everyone sighed, although they were long since used to food being the only thing on Drum's mind. But, then...

"Drum-kins!" A familiar voice shouted out, just before a swift blue blur slammed into Drum.

"A-Axia?" Gao stuttered, looking surprised at seeing the Dragowizard that had previously left to find his own Buddy. And if everyone else's expressions were any indication, then they were too, "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I'd like to know! Get him offa me!" Drum struggled with all his might to pry Axia off himself, but Axia's grip was as good as iron, for as little as he budged.

"Oh, I missed you so much Drum~kins!" Axia hugged Drum as if he would disappear at any moment, "I'm so glad to see you all again so soon!"

"...But Axia, I thought you left to go find your Buddy. So,why are you here?" Gao asked. Had Axia not been able to find a Buddy for himself, and decide to make Drum his 'Buddy' again? It honestly wouldn't surprise Gao, what with Axia's mannerisms and feelings for Drum...

Disengaging himself from the Bunker Dragon, much to Drum's relief, Axia answered the boy, "That's exactly why I'm here! You see, I _did_ meet my rightful Buddy, and we get along really great! He wanted to make our first official day as Buddies together important. So, when he heard that you and Drum~kins would be here, he bought us tickets to see you both in action!" He exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart.

"So, then... where is this '_Buddy_' of yours, then?" Drum asked, sounding a little disbelieving that anyone sane could stand being Buddies with Axia... Then again, better _anyone_ else than him, so he really didn't care.

"Oh, uh... hehehe, I guess I outran him. I was just so excited to see you both again, that I just, kind of... well, took off." Axia looked a bit sheepish as he looked around, Roa nowhere in his visible sight range. Only now recalling how he took off and faintly hearing Roa's shouts to wait up, Axia sweatdropped nervously.

"Well, don't expect us to help you go and look for him or anything," Drum snorted, looking distinctly annoyed at their current situation.

Axia seemed to miss the barb, "Well, he certainly shouldn't be _too_ far off..." He trailed into silence as he saw someone tall in a long, blue coat approaching them through the somewhat thick crowd outside of the Gaen Stadium, "There you are, Axia! You just took off like that, next time wait up for me-" Roa stopped as he saw Axia's company, "Well Axia, it looks like you're two steps ahead of me. it seems that we meet again, Gao and company."

"Hey wait, you're that guy from back before!" Gao exclaimed, remembering the somewhat out-of-place boy from earlier before, back when Rouga and Purgatory Knight had their little spat.

Drum, on the other hand, was looking upwards at the tall, slightly imposing figure that Axia was showing off like a shiny trophy._ He_ was Axia's Buddy?

Axia grabbed one of Roa's hands, "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Roa Ciel, my Buddy!"Axia introduced Roa to them all, a beaming smile on his adorable face.

"We've already met, before." Zanya interrupted, gazing slightly warily of the newcomer through his glasses, which he then adjusted with a lens flash.

"Huh? When did you meet them, Roa?" Axia turned toward his Buddy, seeming to be lost.

"Well, we just bumped into each other a little while back, just before the first matches began. We only had the time for a brief introduction, though, so we didn't have very much time to talk." Roa explained quickly, though he was careful to leave out some particular details of what exactly happened in front of Axia.

"...How is that someone like you is _his_ Buddy?" Drum sweatdropped, looking positively scandalized how a cool guy like that could stand being Buddies with anyone as annoying as Axia. Affixing Drum with a somewhat scolding glare for his bluntness, Gao turned to Roa, wanting, ironically enough, to know much the same thing.

"So, Roa, if you don't mind me asking, exactly how is it that you two met?" Gao asked, making a conscious effort to be more polite than Drum.

"You know bro, why don't we invite him back to the celebration we're going to have? We could talk back there. I mean, it IS getting kinda weird just standing around talking here," Baku offered. He was already friends with Axia, so he should be OK to be around with, "What do you think, Gao?"

Well, any friend of Axia's is a friend of mine," Gao smiled good-naturally, "How about you come celebrate with us man? We've got a party lined up and everything!"

Roa blinked, "Really? Is that OK with all of you?" He asked, looking across the group, the only signs of even minor distrust or reservation coming from Zanya, Asmodai, and Drum, although Drum's annoyed aura was most likely caused by Axia's presence than anything else.

If it was up to Roa, then he would have probably said no, as not only wasn't he a party-type person, but he also wasn't particularly thrilled about spending his day with a group of younger kids. Still it wasn't up to him; today was Axia's day, especially after he had been away for half of it, he thought with the guilt returning once more.

And if it would make his new Buddy happy, then Roa would gladly bend over backwards, "Well, it's fine with me if it's good by Axia," He looked toward his Buddy for final approval, "Is that OK with you, Axia?"

"Why, of course it is! Let's go, everyone~!" Axia declared, as the now two-man larger group began to make their way back toward Gao's house and the awaiting celebration.

* * *

**Fin! This marks the end of Chapter 7. Ugh... Darth Real Life has been kicking my butt! Still, I'm SO glad that I finally got around to doing the next chapter, it's been weighing on my mind for some time now. As you can tell, I'm trying to adapt Roa into the cannon lines and plot, which is kinda difficult to do. As always, Reviews and suggestions are much appreciated, and flamers will have Axia sicked upon them. XD I kid, I kid, I love Axia WAY to much to ever do that to him; he's awesome.**

**I feel like I might have made Drum a bit too much of a jerk, but whenever Axia's around, he does kinda tend to act all rude and nasty... please, tell me if I got the characters right or not! I can never tell if everyone is in character in anything I write or not. It's a curse, I tell you! T-T**

**See you all next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Roa's Second Face

_How long has it been since I last wrote in this journal of mine? A month? A year? A millennium? Far too long for my tastes, anyways. Looking back on it all, I can't help but feel that the signs, now obvious, were everywhere for me to see. Hindsight truly is 20/20, I suppose... My "Buddy" is now long since locked away, where he rightfully belongs. Still, I can not help but ask myself, 'Is this the end?' No... I think this is just the beginning.  
_

_Entry #?_

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

"I've still got a lot of question about this tournament..." Gao muttered his expression unusually grim and serious, "...But that can wait. Let's take a break and celebrate making it past the first round!" Gao exclaimed, his voice now upbeat and optimistic, as everyone sat in front of a snack and food covered table back at his house. "To Balle du Soleil!" He proposed, raising his glass of what appeared to be orange juice.

"Balle du Soleil!" Everyone cheered, raising their own glasses in a toast.

* * *

In the Mikado residence's kitchen, Roa was standing over a stove and counter top covered with food and food ingredients, busy at work making much of the food for the celebration.

"You know, you didn't have to offer to make all the food for Mr. Mikado," Axia pointed out, the little Dragowizard greatly enjoying seeing his Buddy calmly and effortlessly prepare the next coarse in a massive meal, for some reason.

"No, I didn't," Roa conceded with a shrug, "But he looked a bit exhausted to me, and besides, I'm not very much of an outgoing party-type person." It was true, the main reason he had accepted the invitation was so that Axia could spend time with Drum and his friends. Sure, they all seemed nice and all to Roa, but they were still children, so he couldn't spend all his spare time with them. "Besides, I'm a great cook." He reassured Axia with a crooked grin. "Go out there and socialize with everyone else, I'll have the desserts ready in less than 10 minutes," Roa promised, his attention partly focused on whipping the batter for something in a large bowl, "I'll be out shortly, ok?"

"Alright, if you say so..." Axia trailed off, leaving Roa in the kitchen to go out and join the party. He wished that Roa would come with him, but someone had to do all the cooking...

As Axia left the kitchen, Roa's smile faded. He couldn't afford to let anyone know what was going on, especially not anyone he cared for... Making sure he was alone, he withdrew a phone form his pocket and hit a number on speed dial. After ringing only once, a bored yet professional voice rang out, "You have reached the office of Mr. Ciel of Ciel Co, this is Touya speaking."

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Touya?" Roa asked softly. The resulting noise from the other side of the phone was one that Roa could instantly tell was the now-named Touya first nearly falling out of his chair, then quickly sitting up in it. No longer slouching, Touya replied, "S-sir Roa! Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," Roa replied, sounding almost tired, "Look, I know it's been a few years, but I need your assistance now Touya."

"O-of course, sir, what do you need?" The secretary replied, quickly recovering from his shock. It had been a few years since his boss had made contact with him at all... Touya had thought that he was dead.

"I need you to run down a few leads for me. There are a couple of people I want you to run full background checks on," He started, "Also... I want you to start buying as much stock in the Gaen Financial Group as you can get your hands on."

* * *

On the other end of the phone, a young man somewhere in his early twenties finally hung up the phone. He had mint greenish~blue hair in a somewhat effeminate style that reached down toward his shoulders, and his dull grey eyes seemed oddly flat and metallic, not reflecting any light within them at all.

"So... after all this time, you've finally revealed yourself..." The young man sighed, "And it seems that you've changed, for better or for worse.."

Closing his eyes in thought, the young man interlaced his hands, deep in thought, '_The fact that Sir Roa is in need of my help after all this time must mean that the first phase of the plan is in motion... Still, I truly wish that Sir Roa would take more of an active presence in running his company instead of just dumping all his work on me..._' He trailed off, his thoughts becoming slightly morose and sour.

Opening his eyes, the young man cracked his neck, "Heh, let's go to work." Touya Yushima smiled slightly.

* * *

"Well, congratulations guys! You've done very well to get this far." Takashi Mikado praised the of kids, although most of them seemed to be currently engrossed in their food to hear him. He was immensely grateful and relieved that Roa boy offered to do much of the cooking for him, as he had been exhausting himself to keep Gao and his friends occupied while his wife was away.

"Well, we've been working hard," Kuguru smiled, resting her head on one of her hands, '"And it's starting to pay off."

"Time to crank this party up!" Asmodai suddenly announced, he and Tetsuya preparing something interesting, no doubt, "Let's hear it for the team Balle du Soleil talent show!" Testuya grinned, honking his air horn for emphasis, "Time to represent, yo!"

Coning out of the kitchen, Axia was just in time to catch Zanya slicing a pizza with his wakizashi Core Deck Case, followed by, "And now for the amazing Drum, and his skill with the drill!" his eyes gleamed as he rested his miniature Drill Ram Bunker on the table, spinning a couch pillow skillfully on top of it, much to the delight of everyone else present.

"Oh, wow Drum, that's amazing!" Axia ogled his fellow Buddy monster, his sparkling eyes wide in amazement as the Dragon impressed the crowd.

"Heh, not every Dragon's born with these kinda moves, you know." Drum boasted, too caught up to even realize that it was Axia that had given him the compliment. Had he been paying better attention, then he would have likely been a bit more snarky to the Cuddle Dragon, but fortunately for Axia, Drum was in a rare, good mood, the presence of pudding notwithstanding.

Suddenly, the sound of a doorbell ringing cut through the merry times, much to everyone's surprise. "Who's that?" Hana asked, turning toward her father, "Everyone's here!"

Takashi looked dumbfounded, "Well, let's go find out." He replied, his tone still confused. Rising from his sitting posture, Takashi made his way to the front door. "Coming!" Takashi called out cheerfully as he quickly reached the door and slid it open.

"What can I do for... you..." Takashi trailed off as he looked up at the unexpected visitor, yelping in shock. At Takashi's exclamation of surprise, everyone poked their heads around the corner to see what was going on. Drum's eyes widened to the size of softballs as he began to visibly tremble.

Noticing Drum's obvious fear and agitation, Axia frowned, "What's wrong, Drum~kins?" he asked, his tone concerned. Drum didn't seem to hear Axia as he continued to stare at the figure in the doorway.

"Greetings!" A deep, masculine voice boomed out, as the large figure lowered his head into the frame of the doorway, "May I come in?"

"F-father!?" Drum squeaked out, looking absolutely terrified.

* * *

Powering off his phone, Roa looked grimly out the kitchen window. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed, '_So... this is it,_' He thought, '_I'll leave the rest in Touya's hands, for now_.' He finished, the sudden noise of the oven alarm going off telling him that the food was ready.

"Ah, it looks like the food's almost ready!" Roa yelped. Donning pair of oven mitts, he pulled out the large pan from inside the stove and placed on top of the stove's cooling area. Cracking his neck, Roa looked around the kitchen to check on the foods that he had finished.

The entire kitchen was piratically covered with all manner of bakery, many of them sweets and deserts, but some regular foods here and there. Many were Japanese delicacies, although some food from other nationalities were mixed in as well.

'_Perhaps I made too much food,_' Roa thought, sweatdropping. Then again, it was a fairly decent sized party, so better to have too much food then too little, right? ...Well, that's what he thought, anyways. Producing a cart from somewhere or another, Roa started about moving much of the snacks that he had prepared onto it for transportation to the rest of the partygoers - he certainly couldn't carry all of it in one go.

'_Yup... definitely too much food,_' Roa snorted humorlessly, pushing the heavy, food-laden card down the Mikado residence's hallway into the living room area, where everyone was before he offered to help out Takashi. Arriving in the room, Roa was greeted with a rather strange sight.

Most everyone was quietly kneeling down in a small, huddled like group on the far side of the room, but that wasn't even the strange part. Sitting on the couch, Takashi and a large, dark red dragon with long white hair and numerous scars were drinking sake together like lifelong friends. The dragon in question bore a heavy resemblance to Drum, which led Roa to instantly assume that they were related somehow - most likely, he was Drum's father.

'_Well, there's something you don't see every day,_' he though with a minor sweatdrop. Clearing his throat, Roa spoke up, "Mr. Mikado, I've got the next batch of food ready for everyone." Takashi turned his flushed gaze toward Roa, squinting through his glasses.

"Ah Roa, you're just in time!" Takashi grinned, "This is Fang Slade, Drum's father! He came by all the way from Dragon World!"

'_I thought so,_' Roa thought, wheeling the food towards them. Upon seeing the food, Fang Slade began to drool slightly, "Ah, more of your Earth Food! Excellent, I knew there was a reason I came out here!" He grinned, "Time for the main course!" Fang Slade then began grabbing whole food items and devouring them whole, much to Roa's surprise, and everyone else's horror, not counting Takashi.

Takashi squinted as Roa through his glasses before smiling a bit, "Why don't you join us, Roa? Have a drink," He beckoned toward the sake that they had both been sipping up till this point. Glancing back toward the crowd of everyone else, they were all paying too much attention to Fang Slade to even notice him, and seemed to be talking amongst themselves about him. Were they intimidated by Fang Slade? Perhaps, but Roa had certainly seen much worse.

"Eh, why not?" he shrugged, kneeling down at the table opposite Takashi. Calmly reaching out toward the sake bottle, he fluidly filled his saucer with the drink, along with Takashi's and Fang Slade's a moment or later. Clinking their saucers, the three of them easily downed the drinks on a gulp, finishing it off with a sigh. The sake left a pleasant burning trail down his throat, one that was typical for good alcohol.

Though his gaze lingered over Roa for a good moment or two, Fang Slade turned toward Takashi and continued, "In our world, discipline for our younglings is paramount," He advised. Roa calmly sipped his sake as he listened in on their conversation, happy to keep to himself for now.

Takashi frowned as he poured Fang Slade and Roa another saucer of sake, "You sound like my wife," He sighed laxly.

"Drum told me that Mrs. Mikado is working abroad," Fang Slade began. '_Well_,' Roa thought, '_that would explain why she didn't seem to be here..._'

Takashi nodded, "That's right, she's in America, teaching Akijujitsu," He sighed, putting his saucer down. Roa could tell that Takashi had had too much sake to drink; his face was flushed, and the tie that was now wrapped around his forehead sealed the deal. Sipping more sake, he turned toward Fang Slade, whom on the other hand, didn't seem inebriated at all, likely due to his sheer size, he had a higher tolerance for alcohol than Takashi did.

"I've been doing my best to take care of the kids while their mother is away, "he sighed, "I'm just so exhausted from trying to entertain them all the time!"

Fang Slade frowned, "Sounds like you're spoiling them." Takashi turned toward the dragon, a curious expression on his face, "While the mother's absent, it's up to the father to set a good example for their children." He lectured, crossing his arms in a knowing fashion.

"Y-you're right, I should!" Takashi realized.

Fang Slade nodded, "Remember to stay firm and vigilant," He advised, "And it's not enough to 'roar the roar', you must be a Dragon of your word! You're their first model for good behavior."

Roa nodded silently, adding in his own two cents, "He's not wrong, you know. While you shouldn't coddle children, firm boundaries should always be laid down so as to keep them in line. There's nothing wrong with cutting back once in a while, but, like everything, a healthy balance is the best thing for them." He finished, sipping at another saucer of sake, although somehow, unlike Takashi, Roa's face remained flushed free, and he still seemed quite lucid.

Takashi grinned. That had sealed the deal for him, "You know, I really like your style, Fang Slade - starting right now, I'm gonna take your advice," he smirked, crossing his arms, "It's time I started setting tougher boundaries," He announced, opening his eyes and turning toward the huddled crown across the room, "Hey Gao, front and center." he called, his tone unimpressed.

Roa continued to sip sake as Takashi and Fang Slade both brought their own children up before the crown and chewed them out for failing to keep their words from a promise that each one of them had made; Gao for failing to write to his mother abroad, and Drum's currently unknown. Still, he very nearly did laugh aloud when Drum's Drill Ram bunker accidentally flung the couch pillow on top of Fang Slade's head.

One thing lead to another, and Takashi and Fang Slade issued a challenge to Gao and drum, ready to teach them a well deserved lesson.

* * *

"It's time to raise the flag," both Takashi and Gao said at the same time, thus beginning the game, "I fight for Dragon World." Takashi announced, his glasses gleaming.

Gao blinked, "Huh? Uh... really? Wait, Dragon world?" he asked, Drum looking equally unsure.

Placing his hands on his hips, Takashi frowned, "Elders get to go first. Now, I charge, and draw!" he declared, increasing his gauge and drawing a card to start teh first round fo the game.

"Don't do this, dad, with your skills, you know you don't stand a chance against me," Gao tried to persuade his father into vetoing the game. Drum agreed, "Listen to the little human father, there's no point to a fight like this!"

"That's what you think!" Takashi exclaimed, pointing his finger at his son, "I call to the center Extreme Sword Dragon." Takashi declared, his monster appearing on command, "Go attack the fighter!"

"I hope you like heavy metal!" Extreme Sword Dragon yelled as he swung his sword at Gao, the swipe lowering Gao's Life to 7, thus ending his move.

Over in the audience, Asmodai smirked, "Father-son battles are as old as time itself," He spoke wisely.

"Ah, I'll take your word for it." Tetsuya smiled.

"Must be weird fighting your own dad," Akatsuki muttered, Tsukikage offering a "Nin," in response.

'The question is whether or not Gao and Drum will figure out what their fathers are intending to teach them before its too late,' Roa thought, standing leaning back against the dojo's wall rather than sitting as the others were.

"Come on Gao~wow, you both can do it!" Axia cheered them on.

"Guess this is gonna happen..." Gao muttered uncertainly, not at all looking forward to what was about to follow.

"L-let's... go..." Drum seemed to mirror Gao's uncertainty.

"I Buddy Call Drum to the right area!" Gao began, regaining 1 Life from his Buddy Gift and bringing his total Life up to 8, "And I call Systemic Dagger Dragon to the left!" His two monsters stood, raring to attack, "I equip Dragonblade, Drumsword! Let's go!" Gao continued, paying 1 life and bringing him back down to 7 life. Taking his sword in hand, Gao charged forward into the center position, ready to make his move.

"Yeah, it's the Gao Formation!" Hana cheered.

Striking with his Drumsword, Gao delivered a punishing slash downwards, destroying Takashi's Extreme Sword Dragon, "Dad, let's stop this - I already said I was sorry," Gao tried again to get his father to back down, but Takashi would have none of that.

"You don't need to say 'sorry' to me, isn't there someone else you should apologize to?" Takashi intoned, hoping his son would pick up on the hint.

"Systemic Dagger, attack the fighter!" Gao commanded instead, the dragon's attack bringing Takashi's Life down to 8, "Go spin that drill for real, Drum!" Gao continued his attack.

"Don't take this personally," Drum warned, "Drill Ram Bunker!" He roared, the drill's mighty attack bringing Takashi's Life down to 5, thus ending Gao's move.

After charging and drawing, Takashi continued to press his son for an answer, "Gao, why do you think I'm _so_ angry with you?" he asked.

His son blinked in response, but answered anyways, "Cuz I told you that I'd do something and that I didn't do it!"

Takashi quickly shook his head, "Not quite - it's because you didn't write that letter."

"...That's what I just said! It's the same thing!" Gao protested.

Back by the audience, Roa sighed under his breath, '_So, he still hasn't figured it out yet..._' he thought.

"I call Thousand Rapier Dragon to the right," Takashi began, flicking the card to it's intended position, Thousand Rapier appearing with a, "Good evening." But that wasn't the end of it, "I Buddy Call to the center, The Great Drum Bunker Father!" Takashi declared, his Life increasing to 6 as he paid two gauge, calling Fang Slade to the center.

A menacing expression on his face, Fang Slade glared at his foe, "I was born for battle." He said ominously.

Zanya sweated slightly, "I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of those two." He muttered nervously.

Turning toward his older brother, Akatsuki asked, "You think Fang Slade's as strong as Drum says?" Tsukikage only offered, "Nin," as a reply.

Fang Slade surrounded by an ominous purple aura, Gao began to feel the pressure, "I see what you've been saying all this time Drum," he sweated, "Your dad is kind of intimidating..."

"Thousand Rapier, Go attack Gao!" Takashi pointed, Thousand Rapier's flurry of stabs bringing Gao's life down two points to 5, "Your turn now - teach my son a lesson he won't soon forget," Takashi asked Fang Slade, whom merely grinned slightly, showing his fangs ominously.

"I found it," Kuguru muttered, looking at her tablet, "The Drum Bunker Dragon Father card; a size 2 monster with 6000 Power, 5000 Defense, and a Critical of 1." She spoke up as Baku and Hana looked towards her.

Akatsuki didn't look very impressed, "That's it? It's not as strong as I thought..." he muttered.

Kuguru adjusted her glassed, the gleam obscuring her eyes for a moment or two, "Hang on... If the opponent is the player's own child, he gets an extra 3 Critical!" She read.

"W-What?!" Gao looked blue faced in horror. Fang Slade towered ominously over Gao, his bulky body and eyes glowing an eerie red, and his right fist flaming, "You know... you should have written that letter!" Gao yelped in far as Drum's father attacked him.

"Guess you're learning the hard way!" Fang Slade yelled as his colossal punch impacted Gao, the blow not only comically squashing the side of Gao's face, but also bringing his Life down to just 1 point.

'_Ouch,_' Roa thought, '_That'll definitely leave a mark._'

"Leave him alone, you big meanie!" Hana yelled to Fang Slade.

"Walk it off, Gao~wow!" Axia cried out.

Zanya corrected his glasses with a grimace, "That card's made for parent-kid Buddyfights," he muttered, a few drops of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

Baku looked similarly intimidated, "No wonder we haven't seen it around, bro."

Asmodai chuckled, "That's one wicked card - what if we pretend I'm _your_ dad for a day, huh?" Asmodai jokingly asked Tetsuya.

"You already nag me too much." Tetsuya waved his hand dismissively.

Gao rubbed his cheek as his father continued his lecture, "Just try and remember Gao, what you said to Mom - _why_ you promised to write those letters."

Gao paused for a few moments before the memory of his Mom leaving came to mind. They were at the local airport, and Suzumi was just about to beard her plane headed to America. Gao and Hana had both given their mother a farewell hug, and they each promised to write to her every week, with Gao promising to keep her up to date on his Buddyfights in the Gaen Cup.

Snapping back to the present, Gao's face quickly fell in shame, as he remembered the promise he made to his mother, "They're not trying to punish me... I got it wrong." Gao understood, "They're just trying to help me understand. Mom gets lonely so far from home." Standing up on his feet, Gao now looked determined, "If I don't write those letters, she'll be sad - that's why I promised... I just kinda forgot."

Over against the wall, though his eyes were still closed, Roa was now slightly smiling, '_Seems he's finally figured it out..._'

"And how about you?" Fang Slade asked his son, arms crossed, "Do you remember? The promise you made to your father before leaving for Earth? The words of your solemn vow?"

"M-my vow? ...Let's see..." Drum muttered, before it was his turn to take a trip down memory lane...

* * *

"Growing up means finding you _own_ answers." Fang Slade advised.

'Right... my own answers... I can do that..' Drum thought.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Drum was back in the present. Gao turned towards him and grinned, "C'mon, let's show'em the respect they deserve by winning this fight!"

Takashi smiled, "Heh, Bring it on Gao," He challenged his son.

"I call!" Gao announced, flinging a card to the field, "Boomerang Dragon to the center!" The boomerang-shaped dragon appearing as Gao summoned him, "Time to unleash the Gao formation - rebuilt! Dagger and Boomerang, join forces and do a Link Attack on Drum's dad"

"That's 5000 Power! Kids for the win, bro!" Baku cheered Gao on.

"I cast: Dragoenergy!" Takashi declared, as a fiery red aura appeared around Drum's dad.

"This is bad..." Baku muttered.

"Dragoenergy increases the Power and Defense of a Armordragon in combat by 3000!" Kuguru exclaimed, "But wait, it gets worse! Way worse!"

Boomerang Dragon yelled in pain ad Fang Slade's fist connected with his underside, "It also lets the Armordragon do a counterattack!" Kuguru finished, as Boomerang Dragon was destroyed.

"Right back at'cha!" Gao yelled, charging in with his sword in hand, "Dragonblade Drumsword!"

Takashi held up another card, "I cast: Wrath of Dragon!"

Gao's attack was repelled by yet another aura of flame around Drum's dad, "No... Wrath of Dragon..." Baku muttered, "That thing's a majorly tought counterspell that increases an Armordragon's Power and Defense by 6000!"

"But, he still has Drum," Akatsuki pointed out, "Maybe he can turn things around!"

"Go get'em, Drum~kins!" Axia cheered Gao's Buddy onwards.

"No hard feelings, father!" Dru yelled as he thrust his Drill Ram Bunker towards Fang Slade.

Takashi held up yet another card, "I cast: Wrath of Dragon!" Fang Slade held up a hand as he easily caught Drum's attack.

"From the looks of things, you still haven't achieved your objective!" Fang Slade grunted out, "Have you?"

Drum growled at his father, "To be clear, there's only one vow I made to you; to become a Dragon worthy of this Drill Ram Bunker! To be strong like a drill, and to be tough, to be able to live by my beliefs!" he exclaimed passionately.

Fang Slade didn't look impressed, "You still don't understand - maybe this will help!" Drum's father yelled as he thrust a flaming fist forward, sending Drum flying back, but more importantly, shattering the Drill Ram Bunker too.

"H-how could you do this to me?!" Drum yelped as his drill was shattered into pieces, scattering around him in a jumbled mess, thus ending Gao's move.

"...No way... The Next Generation Gao Formation didn't do a thing to him..." Zanya muttered.

Hana seemed in awe,"...I had no idea my Dad was that strong..." She was silent, as next to her, her Grandmother sipped her tea.

Looking down at his hand, Takashi smiled, "Just one card left in my hand... I guess I'd better make it count!" He shouted, "Draw! Charge, and Draw!" he began, increasing his gauge to three cards, "I cast: Dragon Flame on Systemic dagger!" The dojo was filled with a burning miasma as most everyone yelped about in fright from the inferno, "Daddy, this isn't like you!" Hana protested, although Takashi merely chuckled aloud. "Time to finish this." He stated confidently.

"Thousand Rapier, attack Gao," The father commanded, "As you wish." Thousand Rapier stated calmly as he raised his sword, ready to attack.

Gao raised a glowing card in protest, "I cast Green Dragon Shield." He said, as the attack was nullified, and his Life increased from 1 to 2, "Nice!" Drum encouraged Gao.

"Nice move, Gao~wow! Keep it up, you two!" Axia cheered the duo on.

Takashi chuckled at his son's save, "Well played, but I've still got you up against the ropes," Takashi smirked as he corrected his glasses with a gleam, "Time to go old school, my dragon friend."

Fang Slade began to glow once again as his fist became engulfed with flame, "With pleasure," Drum's father growled.

"He's launching his attack, and it has a Critical of 4, bro!" Baku said nervously.

Roa shook his head, "Don't count him out of it just yet, you guys - just watch." And with that, everyone in the audience grew silent as they continued to watch the fight.

"I cast Dragonic Formation; and I move Drum to the center!" Gao exclaimed as he cast his spell, Drum moving to the center position, leaving his ruined weapon behind. Drum looked about in fright, completely defenseless against the oncoming attack.

"Here it comes!" Fang Slade warned his son, thrusting his flaming hand forward, the attack destroying Drum, who returned a moment later with Soulguard.

"How could you destroy it, father?!" Drum yelled, "The Drill Ram Bunker is the pride of our clan - the symbol of royalty - WHY?!" He asked, almost desperately trying to understand what his father was thinking.

"You're still stubborn and inflexible," Fang Slade grunted, prompting a, "WHAT?" from his son.

Fang Slade affixed Drum with a meaningful gaze, "Did you forget again? Once you believe that nothing can change, you become a walking fossil." Drum's eyes grew wide. He had heard those words before...

* * *

"From this moment on, my son, this belongs to you," Fang Slade said, "Take it, and use it wisely."

Drum bowed his head as he replied, "...I vow... by the Fang Slade name... I will prove myself worthy of this Drill Ram Bunker, and honor our ancestors-"

"So stubborn and inflexible," His father cut him off with a grunt, leaving Drum wide-eyed, "You'd better not forget - once you believe that nothing can change, you become a walking fossil."

"Yes, I understand." Drum replied, although he wasn't sure if he really did...

Looking at the gleaming drill, Fang Slade continued, "Many say that no one has seen the true power of this weapon - maybe you'll be the one to unlock it's true potential." Fang Slade hinted, "Now go, and find your own answers."

Filled with confidence, Drum replied, "Yes, I WILL - I promise."

Fang Slade gave a rare smile, "I believe in you, my son - good luck."

* * *

"Draw! Charge and dra-!" Gaodeclared, increasing his gauge to 4 cards. But, then...

"Wait a sec!" Drum stopped Gao from making another move, "W-what is it?" Gao asked.

"I need your help with something," Drum answered, "Father told me that when you believe that nothing can ever change, it makes you get old really fast - he also said that nobody's ever seen the true power of my drill." Looking at the ruined weapon, Drum knew what he had to do, "I need to figure out what he means to fix this - but I'm kinda lost here," Drum gritted his teeth, "I have no idea what he's talking about!" Clenching his hand into a fist, Drum could only growl to himself, until-

"Well, maybe there's more than one answer," Gao easily replied, as Drum opened his eyes and looked toward the human, "Look, if nobody's seen it, then it's possible that the drill's not completed yet." Drum turned his astonished gaze toward his former weapon, his father's words echoing through his mind.

'_Growing up means finding your own answers_.'

"Yeah... that's it! I figured it out!" Drum exclaimed, as he knelt down and began to pick up the drill's pieces, "All this time, I've been trying to learn how to use it, doing my best to be worthy of it..." He muttered, beginning to fiddle with the parts.

"Uh... care to share?" Gao asked, having no clue what Drum was trying to do.

The game's spectators seemed equally stymied, "Am I the only one in the dark here?" Tetsuya asked no one in particular.

"I don't like this," Akatsuki muttered. Most everyone seemed inclined to agree, although Roa had a knowing look in his eyes along with a smile on his face.

"I was so wrong - I wasn't supposed to change _myself_ at all, I was supposed to change the weapon to suit me!" Drum exclaimed, peeling back a panel of a part to reveal a glowing, reddish white power core, "No wonder nobody's ever seen its true power, this drill adapts to whomever is using it, it changes, like we do." Placing a part into the weapon's power core, a bright light began to rain out of it, "'K, show me what you're made of - show me the form you take when you're customized for me!"

The glowing orb erupted into a pillar of fire, the pillar spitting out a flaming card after a moment or two, the card settling right onto Gao's Core Deck Case. Drawing the card, Gao's eyes widened, "No way..." He muttered.

Drum turned towards the human with a grin, "Use that card to help me evolve!" He gave the thumbs-up.

Gao quickly caught up to Drum's enthusiasm, "Way ahead of you man - I pay 1 gauge and evolve!" He announced, flinging the flaming card at rum, who became shrouded in the same glowing, fire like aura, "I knew you had it in you! Now, let's see your true form!"

"Super Armordragon Drum Breaker Dragon is on the scene!" Drum roared, brandishing his even more massive drill after a quick turnabout, his bulkier and more expansive golden-bronze armor giving him a more intimidating look.

Fang Slade smiled, "I never doubted you for a second, my son."

Turning toward Gao, Drum grinned, "Check it out, I have a new ability to Move."

Gao quickly caught on, "Alright, I move Drum to the right, I call Dagger to the left and Boomerang to the center!" He said, the two dragons appearing as Gao called them, "Now, let's give the Gao Formation Rebuild another shot - Dagger and Boomerang, time to do a Link Attack on Drum's dad!"

Fang Slade glared at the dragons seriously, "I wait with baited breath." The two dragons lunged at Drum's dad at once, and although Fang Slade was able to catch the two attacks, the combined power of their attacks still destroyed him - but not for long. Using his Soulguard, Fang Slade quickly returned, "Is that the best you've got?!" Drum's dad roared.

After Boomerang finished returning to Gao's hand, the boy smiled, "He has no cards left in his Soul - full attack; smash through the center, Drum!" Gao commanded, hefting the Drumblade from his back in preparation for the finishing blow.

Raising his massive drill, Drum announced his next move, "Spinning Blasting Assault Mobile Ram: Drill Ram Breaker!" Drum roared, lunging at his father and thrusting his new drill forward with all his might.

The attack connected. Fang Slade smiled amidst the the impact, "I've never been so proud - not since he first breathed fire-!" He was cut off as Drum's attack destroyed his card, and Fang Slade left the field, "Don't forget about my Penetrate ability!" Drum shouted, as the blast from his attack continued forward, impacting Takashi with a shout, grinding his Life down to 3 points.

"Now to cinch our victory," Gao yelled, flying at his father with his spinning sword held high above his head, "This one's for you, dad."

"Great move by Gao," Zanya spoke up, "His Drumsword gains an extra Critical when a monster returns to his deck or hand."

"And Boomerang just returned to his hand!" Akatsuki realized, "That means that Gao's fighting with a Critical of 3!" He stated in awe, with Tsukikage opening a scroll that read, "Critical of 3" in Japanese, offering his usual, "Nin," in response.

"Here's my Dragonsword Drumsword!" Gao cried, bringing the spinning blade downward on his father in a punishing slash, Takashi letting out a defeated cry as his Life dropped from 3 to 0.

**GAME OVER! WINNER IS: Gao Mikado!**

Gao adopted his typical 'victory pose' as he spoke up,"Yeah... Dad taught me everything I know."

Takashi smiled and closed his eyes, down on one knee, "Today's training... is over."

Fang Slade looked at his son with approval, "You did well to find him as your Buddy."

"Thank you, father. I made this thing my own, and the lesson i learned from it will make us unstoppable!" Drum smiled, eager to prove himself to his father in his new, evolved form.

"Maybe," Fang Slade conceded the point with a nod.

Drum looked down toward his new drill, "I thought I'd mastered this drill, but it was just a delusion - you came all the way here to Earth to help me realize my mistake," Drum spoke deeply with gratitude, "Didn't you, father?"

"Why, I don't now what you're talking about!" Fang Slade replied quickly in a too-innocent tone, "I came for the food!" he replied, a goofy grin on his face, "Everyone kept telling me how delicious it is, so I decided to investigate the matter for myself." Drum and Gao seemed ready to have an aneurism at the shock their eyes wide as they shared a, "Whaa-?!" together. Everyone that was spectating the fight looked distinctly unimpressed, a 'really?' expression on most of their faces.

In the shadowed corner of the Room, Roa quietly chuckled to himself for a moment. It would seem that Drum's father both wasn't as nearly tough as he looked on the outside, and was just as stubborn as his son.

Takashi chuckled, "Well then why don't we head back to the house and you can try everything we have?" he offered, "We've still got lots of food, left, thanks to Roa."

Fang Slade chuckled, "Sounds good! I've worked up quite an appetite playing with these little brats!"

"...Fathers are so weird..." Kuguru muttered.

On the way out of the dojo, Takashi and Fang Slade passed beside Roa, whom was still leaning against the wall in the shadow of the room. Though the still slightly inebriated Takashi didn't seem to notice him, Fang Slade's sharp grey eyes lingered over him for a moment or two, an unidentifiable expression in them. Roa's own blue eyes looked up at Fang Slade's through the darkness as the two stared at each other for a very long moment... And then Takashi and Fang Slade exited the room.

"I really like the new look, Drum!" Hana exclaimed excitedly, looking over Drum's new form.

"Oh, doesn't he just look dashing?" Axia asked aloud, his little hands clasped together and hearts in his eyes. Drum snorted and took a step back, barely withholding a derisive comment.

"It's awesome," Gao agreed, "And now I've got something to write about in my letter!"

Tetsuya winked at him, "Don't forget to mention your fly friends, too!"

Asmodai snickered, "And Zanya's epic fail against a girl!" Asmodai couldn't resist pushing Zanya's buttons.

"Why you...!" Zanya gritted is teeth and tried to draw his wakizashi, a fat vein pulsing in his forehead, 'He's kidding Z, try to take a joke!" Akatsuki cried as he desperately held his older brother's arms in check, as behind them, Tsukikage produced a scroll that read, "Dark History".

* * *

Back in the Mikado household, Fang Slade and Takashi clinked their sake saucers together, "To our boys!"

"Seeing your youngling grow up and make good choices - you can't ask for much more than that." Fang Slade proposed, a smile on his face.

"I couldn't agree more." Takashi nodded.

Sipping his sake, Fang Slade frowned, _'That boy... and the look in his eyes... I know I've seen that look somewhere before...'_ He thought, _'But where?'_

* * *

Back in the dojo, the group were all about to head back home - the party was over, and it was starting to get late. Before Gao and Drum could Leave the room, the stationary Roa spoke up, "Hey, Gao, do you mind if I borrow Drum for a minute?" he asked calmly, "I'd like a word with him in private."

Gao blinked for a moment at the odd request, but he relented anyways, "Sure thing man, go ahead." And with that Gao and everyone else left the room, closing the door behind them, leaving Roa and Drum alone.

Drum, now in his miniature SD form once again, somehow managed to look both curious and annoyed at the same time, "Alright, let's get this over with," he snorted, "What do you want?"

A soft shadow spread over Roa's face as he replied, "I wish to talk to you about Axia, and the relationship between you two."

Drum instantly exploded in an argument, "Oh no, not THAT guy! Listen to me, there's NOTHING between us, alright? And there NEVER will be!" Drum shouted, "The way that guy-"

"DRUM!" Roa cut him off sharply, "I know; in fact, I agree with you."

"You can't just expect me to-huh? Wait, you really agree with me?" Drum blinked in surprise. He was sure that this Roa guy was gonna chew him out for the callous way that he treats Axia all the time...

"Yes, I do. I'm well aware of Axia's current feelings toward you, and I'm not here to try and change that - you don't have to return those feelings for him," Roa stated, beginning to slowly walk towards Drum, "However..." he trailed off, and a disturbing sensation began to affect Drum.

A cold sweat began to roll down his back, and there was a strange weight about his shoulders, as if there was an invisible force trying to crush Drum into the ground. Roa continued to walk towards him, "...I can also see the way that you treat him. As my Buddy, his happiness and wellbeing are very important to me; much more so than my own." He continued, now within spitting distance of the frozen dragon, "I'm sure you can understand that... Don't mistake me, I'm not ordering you to change your opinion of him at all, but, if I found out that you've hurt him in any way..." Roa trailed off, now fully out of the Dojo's shadowed corner. A black shadow harshly covered half of Roa's face, and the half that Drum could see wasn't pretty - his one visible eye was narrowed into a lethal death glare, and the mask of his face was coldly terrifying, "I _will_ destroy you."

Stuck in place, Drum's knees began to quiver like melting jelly, "Now... have we reached an understanding?" Roa asked rhetorically - there would be no denial from Drum, and they both knew it.

"Y-yes sir," Drum stuttered out, this terrifying figure leaving no room for any argument. In an instant, Roa seemed to transform - the shadow across his face vanished, and after a blink, Roa's face morphed into a pleasantly cheery one, '"Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way," Roa smiled amicably, "It was quite the interesting match, Drum. Congratulations are in order."

And with that, Roa turned about and made his way to the door. Upon reaching it, he halfway turned around, and looked at Drum in a profile view, "Oh... and don't tell anyone about our little 'talk'. Trust me, if you tell anyone, I will find out," he intoned, a hint of that previous shadow appearing over his face again, but only for a moment, before he smiled again, "Well, see ya later Drum!" He grinned cheerfully, and smoothly slid open the door, leaving Drum alone.

"T-that guy... he can't be human..." Drum muttered in fear, Roa's ominous side just as terrifying and intimidating as his father in a bad mood.

* * *

"Hey, there you are Roa!" Axia smiled gleefully, jumping Roa in a surprise hug about his shoulder, "What a day, huh?"

Chuckling, Roa gave Axia a quick hug back and set his Buddy down, "I'd sat that's quite the understatement - but, did you have a good time?" he asked, a hopeful look on his face.

Axia giggled, "Of course I did, silly!" he giggled cutely, "That was one of the best parties I've ever been to!" He replied, skipping alongside Roa as the two of them made their way home, "But, what did you and Drum~kins talk about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Roa paused for a brief moment before he smiled, "Oh... nothing. Nothing at all..."

* * *

**SCENE! Oh my GAWSH, this chapter has been a long time in the making! I'm SO sorry about the hiatus I was under, I am NOT dead! But, you know, with finals and work and all... _ Anyways, to make up for my absence, this chapter is EXTRA long, for your reading pleasure. With this chapter, a few more sides of Roa have been shown, and its safe to say he positively terrified Drum. ^_^**

**If you check out my profile, I have posted a new link to a commission that I had done of both Axia and Roa in the Buddyfight Style, and it is AWESOME - I highly suggest you all check it and the artist out over on DA. I did some minor editing to it, but that's it from me.**

**Suggestions? Good? Bah? Meh? GIVE THIS REVIEW SLUT SOME FEEDBACK! *lol***


	9. Chapter 9 - Old Secrets

_Given everything that has happened, I have to say that I find little point in continuing these journal entries. Nevertheless, I feel the strange compulsion to continue them, reason or logic aside - as a means of clearing my consciousness, perhaps? The fruits and results of my research have been hidden away as well. Touya and the others have long since been dispersed since we 10 fell apart, although I'm quite certain that I'll see them all one day again. I don't know what my purpose is anymore, or even if I ever really had one, but... now, I can only begin to search for my true purpose._

Entry #?

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

_Roa slowly blinked his eyes open, perplexed and dazed. He almost stumbled onto the cold concrete as he rose unsteadily to his feet, as he wearily ogled his bizarre surroundings. The landscape surrounding him was foreign and astonishing, almost surreal. The night, obsidian sky expanded endlessly, a massive, breathtaking crescent moon glowing in its midst and breaking its dark monotone. The ancient looking brick path he walked on was incessantly surrounded by pale, skeletal trees that curved and bent along with the wind, towering over him._

_He dismally noted the specks of bright snow swirling about him. He was alone. Roa's surroundings were eerily dark and silent, almost as if they were without any life at all. Beginning to walk down a decrepit looking stone path in the middle of nowhere, his surroundings seemed almost ethereal. His pathway was lined with twisted, dead trees that seemed black as a nightmare, their branches wickedly sharp and deathly bare. The light, almost pure white snow that fell from the sky explained the obvious chill in the air, although it didn't account for the overwhelming sense of numbness throughout his entire body..._

_"Where... am I?"_

_He stopped and looked toward the sky, entranced by the sight that dominated his vision, "...A huge white moon? ...A world that doesn't seem real at all," he continued to think aloud, as if trying to reassure himself that he was truly here. The moon above him was absolutely massive, dwarfing anything else in the sky, every one of its craters clearly visible, "Have I died and gone to the afterlife?" Roa asked himself, receiving no answer to his question._

_Not that he expected one._

_Finally glancing down from the astonishing sight, he finally acknowledged the great lake lying before him. But, it wasn't a simple pool of water, "Huh? The moon in the sky is white... but the moon reflected in this lake is black," Kneeling down by the lake's edge, further observing the rest of the water caused Roa's eyes to widen in profound horror at the reflection that met his eyes._

_The obsidian moon in the lake resided in a disturbingly blood-red sky, and beneath, a dark path, nigh similar to the one Roa stood on, extended down the center, surrounded by chaos and destruction. Unidentifiable corpses were littered over ruined and collapsed buildings of the present world, and the pools of blood and entrails were infinite. Mangled bodies were ripped into countless pieces, with their inner gore scattered appealingly across the landscape like some nightmarish rendition of a Pablo Piccaso._

_But that wasn't what appalled Roa the most - sitting almost peacefully atop a massive spire of ruin and destruction was someone he recognized in a wave of profound fear and confusion._

_The figure that sat atop a pile of ruin wasn't human, that was clear. The wind blew his long, curly blonde hair about almost gently, and his dragonic face rested within the palms of his blue scaled hands - he was crying, and Roa could see why. Resting across the lap of the lightly armored Dragowizard was a dead body, whose golden blonde hair and blue coat were disturbingly recognizable - the dead body was himself, Roa._

_He was dead._

_"Axia..." Roa muttered in horror, "And those ruins are... no, they can't be..." He whispered in muted terror, "What the hell happened to everyone?" Now screaming silently in terror, Axia gripped his head as wet tears flew freely down his face, staring at Roa's unmoving, lifeless corpse in his lap, which seemed to stare at him back, "And, why is Axia alone in such a horrible place?" Roa whispered to himself._

_Roa's heart swelled with yearning and grief - seeing him like that, it tore away at his heartstrings, "I need to go to him," He whispered, reaching towards the water, "I need to go to Axia..."_

_Just as he was about to make contact with the water, the dark, inverted-coloured hand that reflected Roa's own came to life, and sprung out abruptly from the waters and grabbed at his wrist, crushing it firmly. Roa gasped and stumbled back, shocked and confused, "**No,**" an eerie, all-to familiar voice echoed from the lake. Before Roa had a chance to even question it, dark ice began to crawl across the lake at rapid speeds, quickly beginning to conceal his weeping Buddy from his view._

_"The water's freezing?!" Roa tried to desperately pull away, but the hand's grip on his wrist was as good as iron, "Damn it, let me go! NO, AXIA!"_

_But it was too late. The ice had already overtaken most of the lake, Axia included, with the exception of a jagged opening from which the shadowed hand still gripped his. He inhaled sharply at the reflection his wide, blue eyes were met with. The large, murky figure was indistinct, fading in and out with the shadows, but Roa was hard-pressed to forget that shadowy, mad grin and slitted, bright red eyes._

_"**No!**" its ghostly voice resonated once more._

_"I-it can't be... you're..." Roa breathed out in terror before everything fell into a pitch black._

* * *

Roa's eyes flew open as he jolted awake, his upper body exploding upwards as he nearly leaped from his bed up into a sitting position, now wide awake. Sweat dripped down his forehead and plastered his hair to his clammy face. His hands trembled as that horrible, horrible vision replayed itself over and over through his mind. Slowly glancing back down at the bed, his eyes met the still heavily asleep Axia, the boy almost looking for reassurance that his dream wasn't some sick, twisted reality.

Pressing his quivering palms into his chest, Roa began taking deep, uneasy breaths, "No... It was a dream, I'm still alive..." Roa muttered to himself, as he slowly began to calm down, no longer breathing as quickly as he was before, "But... that wasn't a nightmare..." He muttered aloud, his eyes vague and indistinct as he tried to think through what he had just seen, '_That couldn't be a dream... no, it was..._'

Roa stared at the palm of his shaking hand as if hoping it would contain some sort of miracle - as if it would reassure him, give him all the answers that he so desperately needed.

It did not.

After a few minutes of somber, brooding thoughts, Roa glanced up to the window to see that the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon - far to early for him to normally wake up, but he hadn't a chance in hell to fall asleep again. Looking back down at the sleeping Dragowizard once more, Roa's face and heart both softened a bit in relief, '_All I can do now is enjoy what time I have left with Axia,_' he thought ruefully, as he reached over and brushed an errant strand of Axia's hair out of his face. Smoothly climbing out of bed, so as to not wake his Buddy, Roa tiptoes out of the room.

He'd let Axia have his sleep for now, he couldn't bring himself to trouble Axia, especially with his own issues. Walking out of his room and quietly shutting the door behind him, Roa padded down the hallway with a clear designation in mind. After that nightmare, a nice, hot shower was exactly what he needed right now...

It wouldn't do well to dwell upon what he had seen... Or the implications of it either.

* * *

Stirring gently in bed, Axia blinked and yawned before he stretched a bit, feeling refreshed and lively. He had a wonderful night's rest, Roa's bed was just so plush and comfy! Wait... looking about, Axia blinked in confusion, "Roa?" he asked aloud, looking around the bedroom. His Buddy seemed to have already woken up, which was a bit unusual - from what he knew so far, Roa was usually the one who overslept between the two.

"I guess Roa must have gotten up already..." Axia trailed off, rubbing the last traces of sleep from the corners of his big golden eyes.

Popping into his diminutive SD form, Axia dressed and readied himself after a few minutes and took off down the hallway with a beaming smile on his face, ready to wish and give Roa a great morning! Midway down the hall, the sound of running water caught his attention.

'_Oh, is Roa taking a shower?_' he thought to himself, walking forward towards the door with steam coming out from behind it. But after a moment, the Dragowizard noticed that the door to the bathroom was slightly ajar.

Once again, Axia started to feel a powerful curiosity began to pull at his mind, '_Oh, I really shouldn't... I better just close it._' But as Axia reached for the door handle, he found himself hesitating. After a moment of mental debating, his eyes finally peeked in at his Buddy, who was too busy showering to pay any heed at Axia's peeking.

'_I-I can't believe I'm actually peeking on Roa,_' Axia thought, blushing cherry pink, though despite his reluctance, he still continued to peer into the room. Luckily, or unluckily (perhaps to Axia), the large amounts of steam in the room prevented him from seeing anything indecent, just the dark form of Roa's body behind the thick shower curtain. Blushing furiously, Axia continued to peek on his Buddy, his head poking around the corner of the door frame, ready to bolt at any given notice.

After a good few minutes of this, Roa's form reached ahead and turned the knob on the shower, cutting the flow of water to a halt. Grabbing a towel hanging from just outside of the shower, the still misted and concealed Roa wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. By this point, the fog had started to clear.

Axia never knew just how well toned Roa was - his long sleeved shirts and coat always did such a good job of hiding his deceptive build. While he was lean and slender, in fact almost curvy, his body was well muscled and devoid of any body fat, the kind that one only got after years of consistent training and healthy diet. Axia blushed more and clapped his little hands to his blushing cheeks, trying his best not to audibly swoon at his now topless Buddy.

But then, still unaware of the prying eyes on him, Roa turned around innocuously, and Axia's eyes flew open in shock, all traces of his previous mood now long gone. Though Roa's chest was indeed leanly muscled and devoid of any fat, in fact, Roa even had quite the smooth six-pack, Axia was anything but pleased at what he now saw.

Tearing their way down his Buddy's back and marring an otherwise perfect body were massive, ugly scars. They were a bit faint and hard to see, like silver ink written upon clean white paper, although they nearly sparked in the bright light. They were incredibly painful looking, and yet, Axia could clearly tell that they were many, many years old. He could also tell exactly what they were.

Whip marks, and plenty of them.

'_R-Roa..._' Axia mentally trailed off, '_What... what happened to you?_' Now no longer in the mood to peep any more, Axia quickly ducked his head back around the corner and made his way to the kitchen, '_So that's why he always sleeps with a shirt on..._' Axia thought, his internal tone pained and sad, '_What on earth could have happened to him? ... No, I can't just ask him, I mean, what if I just bring up bad memories from him?_' he mentally debated, now wishing that he had never peeked on Roa showering in the first place.

"I don't know what to do..." Axia muttered, lowering his head, "But... whatever happened to him in the past doesn't matter, all I can do is be there if Roa needs me." He raised his head with a sad smile, trying his best to put a more positive spin on things, though it seemed to lack the vigor that he had prior, "That's right, that why I decided to be Roa's Buddy in the first place - when I first met him, he saved me, so it's my turn to save him. Roa... you need to know that you're not alone."

* * *

Stepping out of the shower, now fully dressed, Roa gave his slightly damp hair a quick shake to fling out any stubborn drops of water. Gazing deeply into the mirror above the sink, Roa laid a palm against the foggy glass and sighed, '_I just hope that things will never come to that..._' Stripping the towel off his waist, the now dry young man quickly dressed himself in his usual outfit sans his blue coat, which he knew was hanging up in the entrance way to his house. Following this, he stepped out of the bathroom and began to make his way down the hallway back to his room before a delicious scent met his nose. It was coming from the direction of the kitchen, so Axia had already gotten up? Turning around, Roa headed to the stairs leading to the kitchen downstairs, and to Axia as well.

As he arrived in the kitchen, Axia turned towards him, "Oh, g'morning Roa," He smiled, thought there seemed to be something slightly off about Axia today... Filing this in the back of his mind, Roa walked toward Axia and offered a smile back, "Morning Axia - you just get up?"

Axia hummed in reply, though again, he again, he seemed to be slightly subdued and rather lackluster this morning, "Yup, I'm all good for today. You have any plans for later?"

The human nodded, "Well, actually yeah, I do - I'm going to meet up with an old acquaintance today," He explained, "we're going to meet at the local mall, mainly we're going to do business stuff." Roa waved his hand, his tone airy, "To be honest, I hate paperwork, so I dumped most of my junk on him while I was doing my travels."

Axia giggled, his previous spark now returning to his eyes, much to Roa's satisfaction, "Hey, that's mean of you Roa," he chuckled, "I never took you of all people for the lazy type."

Roa grinned, glad to see that their friendly banter was quickly returning, "That's because I'm not - he acts as the puppet leader of Ciel Co. in my absence, so he naturally has a lot to manage. Ciel co. IS something of an important company, you know," he explained, Axia nodding in understanding.

"And you said we're going to meet him today?" Axia asked, sliding into his seat, "what's he like?"

Roa considered his thoughts before replying, "Oh, he's rather... unique, as you'll see. I've had him do some special work for me lately, and he'll give me a status report." The blonde chuckled internally at the 'special work' that he had Touya execute for him earlier, '_Right now, I would expect that Kyoya's beginning to crack under the pressure_.'

* * *

"M-Master Kyoya!" a frantic voice shouted out, "We have a problem!"

Kyoya's fingers paused mid-stroke as the song he was playing on his organ was brought to an abrupt halt. Eyes narrowing a little in annoyance, Kyoya turned toward the man; Elf Kabola, one of his Disaster members, "Yes? What is it?" he asked, his eyes laced with thinly veiled annoyance, though his smirk never fell.

Kyoya's organ-playing time was unofficially his 'Do-Not-Interrupt' time, and anyone who had made the mistake of interfering with it in the past was severely punished.

Kabola fidgeted a bit under his master's glare, but continued nonetheless, "W-well sir, just recently, an unknown entity has begun purchasing large quantities of your company's stock."

Kyoya's eyes widened a little, "Buying my stock? Exactly how much has been purchased?"

The man flipped a few pages on a clipboard that we was holding before giving his answer, "By our estimates, approximately 25% of all Gaen Corporation stocks have been purchased, and even now more is following - Master Kyoya, what should we do?"

Kyoya's eyes narrowed, and his lips pursed together into an ugly sneer as he furiously worked out his plan, '_Damn,_ a_t this rate, I'll lose ownership over my own company - this is unacceptable, I won't stand being humiliated like this... But, who_?' he thought, knowing that is he lost anything over 50% ownership of his stock, then he would be out one company, "Have you at least managed to trace who has been making all these purchases?" he asked, Kabola shrinking even more at his boss's unmerciful tone.

'_To buy even as much stock as they have, they must be ludicrously rich_,' Kyoya reasoned, '_but who would be able to do this_?' His thoughts first drifted toward Gao's friend Suzuha of the Amanosuzu Group, but that train of thought didn't last very long. He knew that even as wealthy as the 7th grader was, not even _she_ had the resources or the funding to pull off a heist like this stunt. But still, Kyoya couldn't shake the feeling that this had something to do with Gao Mikado, or at least someone he knew. But if not Suzuha Amanosuzu, then who-

"Uh, sir?" Kabola's voice interrupted Kyoya's train of thought.

Turning to glare at his (in his opinion) incompetent employee, Kyoya bit back what would have been a snarky reply and instead asked, "Yes? You have something else to say?"

Shrinking in on himself a little bit, Kabola gripped his clipboard a bit more tightly, "O-oh, well, you seemed to be staring off into space, so..." If looks could have killed, then the man would have surely burst into flames at that moment. Fortunately for him, Kyoya wasn't an Uchiha from a particular anime, so he didn't, "We managed to trace the recent string of purchases to a private interest group called Ciel Co, but Master Kyoya, we don't-"

But Kyoya had already tuned the man out as his mind was whirling through its numerous thoughts like clockwork, '_Ciel Co?_' he thought to himself in a little bit of surprise, '_I see, no wonder they've managed to get a hold of as much stock as they already have, especially considering-_'

"Uh, sir?" As if it was Déjà vu, Kyoya turned to glance at Kabola again.

If the man would have shrank in on himself any more, than he would have no doubt turned inside-out. His face deceptively calm, Kyoya's lips spread in a dark smirk as he began, "You seem to like interrupting my train of thought today, don't you Kabola?"

Now doing a remarkable impression of a mouse, the man squeaked out, "B-but sir, we've already fun a full background check on Ciel Co, b-but we weren't able to come up with anything tangible! Everything we could investigate about them came up as classified, and none of our tech experts could get around them."

Kyoya sighed, "That doesn't surprise me; I've heard of Ciel Co before," at Kabola's incredulous look, Kyoya frowned and continued, "You see Kabola, they've been my main business rival for several years now. They beat me out for doing a lot of private work with the Buddy Police, though I'm still in charge of manufacturing Core Deck Cases for the Buddy Police. What little I do know about them is that they conduct highly classified research and experiments, and that they have very close ties with the Buddy Police, with whom they regularly contract work for, among other private individuals. Even I don't know what they're really up to, or even who the head of the company is, but..."

As if on cue, Kabola replied, "But, what?"

Taking a moment, Kyoya continued, "Although they're not very well known due their secrecy, rumor has it that Ciel Co. owns a small piece of every company in the world, most likely for espionage and spying purposes. Their name also pops up frequently in the Buddyfight underworld, and they're even said to be behind the creation and leadership of the Buddyfight Club."

"...Of course, there's little to no evidence for most of this, so most likely they're just theories." By now, Kyoya was just rambling, much to his surprise. Though he was a relatively new member of Disaster, Kabola had never seen Kyoya so... rattled, before.

'_This Ciel co. must be quite dangerous_,' the man thought to himself.

Kyoya frowned and rubbed his chin for a moment before he said, "Try to block, or at least slow down the purchases as best you can," he instructed, "Don't let any more stock be purchased than is absolutely necessary to stop them."

"Yes, sir!" Kabola scrambled to attention, nearly tripping over his own feet as he dashed to replay his boss's message to the grunts and tech workers. After Kabola left, Kyoya clenched his fists, his organ now long forgotten, '_I know this is an effort to intimidate me_,' he mentally sneered, before his expression calmed, smoothing over his rage. Kyoya called out, "Sophia."

Quickly answering her master's call, a dark portal opened before Kyoya, the white haired girl stepping forward, "Yes, master Kyoya?" she replied monotonously, "You require my aid?"

"Indeed," Kyoya began to pace, his arms folded behind his back. he thought for a few moments before he turned towards her with a calm smirk, "I know that you heard everything that I said. Now, I want you to go and find out as much as you can about Ciel co. - use any methods that you think are appropriate."

Sophia bowed her head, "Да," she replied, vanishing by portal just as quickly as she had arrived.

* * *

Roa sneezed quite severely, not once, not twice, but three times. Unaware of whom was inadvertently thinking about him, the young CEO wiped his nose, while a few random passersby in the mall muttered their blessings. This time it was Axia who spoke up after Roa sneezed, "You alright Roa?"

Roa scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Uh, excuse me," he sniffed, "how's that old saying go, that one about sneezes? ...Oh well, even if sneezing three times means someone doesn't like me, I think I'll survive."

"Oh, ok," Axia looked oddly at him, "If you say so. By the way Roa, who exactly are we meeting here again?"

"He's a very close friend of mine," Roa elaborated, "I've known him for a good few years now, though I haven't been in contact with him for a while. He's a bit of a stiff, but he's not as bad once you get to know him. He should be here any minute, so you'll get to meet him soon."

"Oh, I can't wait!" Axia gave a small cheer, "Any friend of yours, Roa, is a friend of mine too... other than Gao~wow, I don't really have many friends," he confessed sadly, fidgeting a bit, "so I can't wait to meet him!" he finished with a much more positive spin.

'_Let's just hope that he's not too pissed off at me_,' Roa thought, though for obvious reasons he chose not to voice this thought. Taking a seat in the mall's plaza station, both Roa and Axia looked around for anyone that seemed to be walking towards them.

However, there was almost no one else there at the moment, and the few people that were there paid the duo no mind, "He should arrive here shortly," Roa said aloud, checking a pocket watch, "he's almost never late, so we shouldn't have to wait very long."

Although, a few minutes later, nothing had changed in terms of anyone arriving, although Axia noticed that Roa now seemed to be idly toying with something in his hands, "Hey, what're doing Roa?" he asked. Looking more carefully, he seemed to be idly shuffling a deck of cards, though Axia could tell that they weren't Buddyfight cards...

"Oh, these?" the boy replied, laying the cards down on the table for Axia to see, "These are called Tarot cards; they're used to foretell events that have yet to happen."

"You mean they can tell the future?" Axia's eyes glittered with interest, "I remember, you told me that you could see the future, didn't you?"

Roa nodded, "Yes, but not always through cards like these - sometimes they... come in the forms of dreams or visions," he explained, hesitating part of the way through, "I've had these cards ever since I was a child, and they've come in handy for me more than once, though I really only hold onto them for old times sake - I haven't read the future in a long time, but I can show you, if you really want."

Axia practically vibrated in excitement, "Oh wow, that'd be amazing!" beaming up at his Buddy, Axia watched as Roa slowly shuffled the deck. Cutting it into three parts, Roa asked Axia to pick one. After a moment of thinking, Axia pointed to the deck in the middle. Snatching up the cards that Axia had chose, Roa closed his eyes and re-shuffled the decks with the middle pile on top.

As Roa continued to deal the cards, his hair seemed to rise slightly and sway in an non-existent wind. Opening his eyes, which also seemed to be faintly glowing a purple colour, Roa seemed to hesitate, a deeply concerned look briefly crossed his face before he reluctantly continued, laying the top several cards down in a cross-shaped pattern.

Axia watched, entranced, as Roa slowly flipped over the first card, which Axia recognized the King of Swords, and then came the World, a vibrant circle of of gold and green and royal blue. Next came two figures: the blindfolded Lovers, their slender, beautiful features sharply contrasted by the card's harsh, heavy shadowing.

They were followed by the Fool, whom was elaborately decorated in paints and had decorative feathers in his hair, and then the final card, which depicted a royal-looking man sitting upon a golden throne, "What's that card?" Axia asked innocently.

"This card is called The Emperor," Roa explained, though he sounded a bit regretful, "it symbolizes salvation and hope - but the catch is, this card represents you Axia," Roa told him, "it means that someday, someone'll need you, and you're going to save them. It means that you're a hero." At Axia's incredulous look, he looked up to Roa, "It's true," his Buddy smiled.

"M-me, a hero?" Axia blushed a bit before he realized something, "But, who am I gonna save, Roa?"

Roa hesitated, looking distinctly uncomfortable," I can't say," he closed his eyes.

"Aw, come on!" Axia pressed, "Why not?"

Roa sighed, "...Alright, I'll tell you," Roa reluctantly caved, unable to keep what he had seen from Axia, especially with Axia making those puppy-dog eyes at him, "but, you're not going to like this," he promised. His eyes still closed, Roa reached for the card on top of the deck and gently grasped it, "It seems... that the person you're going to save," he began, flipping the card over to reveal a wickedly-evil looking creature wrapped in a dark purple coat - The Fiend.

"Is me."

Axia looked shocked as he saw the card and heard Roa's warning, only half hearing the rest as the boy continued, "Years ago, I took a look into my own future as well, and it looked bleak... my destiny is filled with temptations of evil..." Roa looked guiltily downwards, before he gazed intoningly at the Dragowizard, "And someday, I'm going to need _you_ to rescue me."

"M-me? But, why?" Axia asked sadly, "I mean, what can I do? ...Isn't it possible you just read the cards wrong?" the little Dragowizard asked almost desperately.

"No Axia," the human replied softly, his tone laced with guilt and dejection, "it's not."

"But..." Axia whispered, his eyes stinging, "But I don't want anything to happen to you..."

"It won't," Roa assured him quickly, "because you're going to save me, remember?"

Axia wiped his eyes with the edge of his sleeve before he smiled sadly at Roa, "...I guess you're right," he replied, this time to Roa's surprise, "but, at least your prediction about the future has a bright side - so whenever you need me, I promise you I'll be there," he promised Roa, his large golden eyes shining with unshead tears.

"Axia..." Roa looked down at him in something resembling astonishment - just the other day, Axia seemed much more soft spoken and unsure of himself, '_Something _has_ changed in you,_' Roa thought, '_But... what could have changed you like this? And why?_'

"...Alright then, it's a promise," Roa smiled after a pause, his own eyes a little wet as well, "I'll always be able to count on you, won't I?" he chuckled, gathering up the remaining cards.

"You know it!" Axia giggled, the two of them quickly breaking into a healthy fit of laughter over the whole thing, despite the rather ominous and foreboding feeling of the conversation just a few moments ago – or, perhaps because of it?

"I do hope that I haven't interrupted anything important," a mild-sounding voice interrupted the two of them. The both of them turning towards the source of the voice, they saw a young-looking person standing there. Axia estimated them as most likely within his early twenties, though even Axia, as effeminate and cute as he was, had to look good and hard at them for a moment to realize that they were in fact a boy.

The now revealed _he_ had a heart-shaped face with aqua-mint greenish blue hair that fell in an effeminate style down to his jaw, and wore dark blue jeans tucked into shin-high brown hiking boots. He wore a black shirt with a V-shaped opening for his neck, and an unbuttoned short-sleeved grey shirt overtop it. The young man also wore a necklace with three magatama-shaped beads on it, and had flat, almost metallic grey eyes that seemed to have no pupil.

"Actually, you're right on time," Roa stood up smoothly, his cards instantly gone as he haphazardously snatched them up, all traces of his previous good mood now completely veiled over, much to Axia's disappointment, "Axia, this Touya Yushima, an old friend of mine, and my private whipping bo-"

"Personal secretary," Touya seamlessly corrected Roa, with the obvious ease of having done so many times before in the past.

"…Personal secretary," Roa reluctantly yielded, "and Touya, this is my Buddy, Qinus Axia."

"H-hello there, It's very nice to meet you," Axia bowed with some trepidation. Touya's grey eyes were working surprisingly well at unnerving Axia with little effort, and the Buddy monster flinched in blank astonishment. Not because of the young man's words, but his eyes. They were strangely dull, and seemed to look beyond Axia, or straight through him.

"But, Touya, you're..."

"Blind," the young man agreed, his tone soft.

"But, how?" Axia's own eyes were wide in curious wonder, "How do you-"

"How do I see?" answered the young man, a twinkle surfacing in his flat irises, "There are senses other than sight. And senses just as strong. Many people think me handicapped or disabled for such an obvious flaw. And yet, by the same token, I have found that most other's senses to be exceptionally dull in comparison." For a long moment, Touya seemed to stare directly at Axia, who had started sweating and fidgeting nervously under the young man's blind scrutiny, before he keeled down on one knee and extended an open hand, "Oh, and it's very nice to meet you Axia," he gave a small smile, "it's also nice to finally get someone who can help keep Sir Roa in line."

Giggling at Roa's snort of indignation, Axia smiled and shook his hand, "Nice to met you too Touya, and don't worry, Roa's in good hands." he played along, the initial unease of Touya's strange gaze quickly wearing off.

"…I'm standing right here, you remember?" Roa grinned in an annoyed manner, a fat vein pulsing on his forehead.

Touya considered this, "Yes, and your point is…?"

The blonde briefly considered if he could get away with making a scene – there were very few people around, and he knew that he wouldn't get into any serious trouble, even if he did something serious or violent – Touya's calmly-mocking smirk always riled him up easily – but he pushed the (admittedly enticing) thought aside.

"Anyways," Roa coughed, his tone quickly becoming more business-like, "were you able to begin the plan?" he asked Touya, whom nodded calmly in reply, whist Axia looked confusedly between the two young men.

"Yes sir, Ciel Co. currently own a 35% share hold of the Gaen Financial Group's stock," he told his boss, "and we are annexing as much as we can continuously."

"Good," Roa approved with a nod, "oh, and… did you bring what I wanted?"

Axia looked up at them in confusion as Touya replied, "Yes sir, I have it here," as he produced a… key?

Handing the key over to his boss, Touya asked, "Sir Roa, are you sure that's a good idea?" he now looked slightly concerned, "I mean, you remember why you gave it to me in the first place…"

Roa nodded, "Yes, I know, but... this is just in case, what with what's been going on recently."

"If you're sure," Touya relented, as the little silver key disappeared into Roa's coat pocket.

"Anyways," Roa smiled, changing the topic, "now that we've got the boring business crap out of the way, why don't we try doing something fun? I mean we're already at the mall, so why don't we go make it worth out time?"

"Now that sounds like a good idea to me~!" Axia grinned.

Touya nodded, "I have no objections," though inside he was busy in thought. However, as they all left, all of them failed to notice the card on the mall floor that had slipped out of the Tarot that Roa had just used, even though it was now facing upwards for all to bear:

Death.

* * *

A short while later, the three of them had made their way to the Castle Hobby shop. A surprisingly large number of people quickly crowded around Axia in amazement of seeing an actual buddy monster in person, with Axia giggling and thanking everyone for all the compliments and praise he was receiving- one little girl even looked to be trying to put several dainty bows in his hair.

While Axia was busy being crowded and fawned over, both Roa and Touya were nearby, leaning against the edge of the rail overlooking a Buddyfight in progress, though neither of them were paying much attention to the match itself, "Have you remained in contact with any of the others, besides me?" Touya asked quietly, being careful to let no one else overhear them talking.

Roa shook his head almost imperceptibly, "No, you're the first - you should know that I have no intention of them all ever meeting together again. You should know that."

"...Yes, you're right," Touya agreed, "I just had to check," he paused before he continued, "you know Sir Roa, you seem a lot different since I last time saw you."

Roa snorted, "Well, isn't that obvious? Besides, I know you still can't-"

"No, it isn't that," Touya interrupted him, "it's in your voice - your smile, I can't remember that last time I actually heard you laugh," turning towards Axia, who was now signing autographs for some of the younger children, Touya continued, "he's changed you a lot, hasn't he?"

Roa looked toward Axia as well, "...Yeah," Roa agreed with him after a moment, "you're right, I'm just glad that he and I met each other..."

**GAME OVER! WINNER: Davide Yamazaki!**

The loud,, automatic voice signaled the end of the Buddyfight that had been in progress boomed out, as both Roa and Touya's eyes widened in surprise at the name being mentioned, '_That name, he's-!_' Roa thought, looking down sharply into the Buddyfight stadium to stare at the blonde and black haired thug of a kid, whom was currently licking his lips in a deranged manner, '_He's one of Kyoya's cronies,_' Roa thought, '_I never thought we'd get a chance like this though. This is... convenient._'

"Man, what a wimp," Davide sneered, "these chumps ain't good enough for me any more." Looking up at the people, mostly other young kids and children watching the game, he shouted, "So, anyone else wanna take me on?! Huh?! Man, if none of these kids are man enough, then I'm outta here." The kids who were watching the match flinched and recoiled slightly, obviously intimidated from Davide's bluster. No one steeped forward.

Although most everyone took a step back in collective reservation, Roa instead smirked almost as maniacally as Davide, "This is perfect," he grinned, "Not only do I get to undermine Kyoya's company from right under his node, but now one of his pawns practically walks right into my hands."

Glancing over into the Castle Shop, he knew that there was no way he was getting Axia out of that sea of kids any time soon, much to his disappointment, and Davide's unknown misfortune - he would have honestly preferred to fight alongside Axia and use their new Magic World deck, but he guessed it would have to wait for next time; he couldn't pass up this chance.

Tightly gripping his Core Deck Case in mixed anticipation and barely suppressed excitement, Roa deliberately cracked his neck and slowly made his way down to the lower entrance of the Buddyfight stadium, ready to flatten Kyoya's deranged psycho and put on a good show, '_It's t__ime to get ready for the return of Spirit World._'

* * *

**And scene! Phew... First off guys, I'm SO sorry for the massive wait - I could list off a ton of reasons his took so long, from recurring computer problems and full-time college to repeated brain-farts and even having to retype half of this when Firefox crashed on me, but I'll spare you all the boring details. At any rate, I finally introduced Touya, another OC of mine, into the plot. Who he is will be revealed in time, but he works for Roa and is the puppet leader of Ciel co. in Roa's absence, that much I can say.**

**Next chapter will also feature the first (IN FIC) Buddyfight, not counting the one I ripped from the show, as I suck pretty bad at writing them (trust me, I know), so that may take some thinking to do - he'll also be using my custom Spirit World, which, with a bit of research online, can be found if anyone's interested enough.**

**Now I also know this chapter seemed a little dark at points, but that's the way I want it - this fic IS rated M for a reason, though I promise not to make it like that all the time, just at certain key points of the story when it's required. And I also wanted to make Axia and Roa's relationship a bit stronger, hence the interactions they had with one another in this chapter (including the ones that the other didn't necessarily know about XD).**

**As always, review-on, haters will have Axia sicked upon them, and please let me know of your thoughts/opinions! I crave them! They also help to tell whether or not I'm keeping everyone in character, especially Axia (he's always hard for me to write), so thanks for the wait! You guys rock!**

**P.S. If anyone had any OCs, especially OC villains/antiheroes you might be willing to share, please let me know - I'm in need of a few for down the line in the future. :)**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Strongest Buddyfighter

_There wasn't a day in my early life that I could remember that I didn't feel...sad? I really don't know if that's the right word to describe the feeling I've been forced to face for the entirety of my life. From a small age, I never had anyone. And yet, I have never once been lonely. I was never surprised about the way I turned out to be. After all, one can't be surprised at something that's been happening to them their entire life..._

_When I was younger, I would often cry to myself, but the thing that bothered me the most from those experiences was not why I was crying, it was the fact that I was crying in the first place. Why should I cry because people treated me like dirt? Crying is a source of weakness; it was a wound of one's mentality. The only way to prevent one from getting wounded in such a way was to dodge the strike mentally. Ever since I realized this, I have not cried once. I no longer cared about how other people treated me. It wasn't because I gave up on myself, but rather because I gave up on everyone else. Throughout the many years of my isolated childhood, I had learned many things, such as the various ways people would react to different things, why they would behave that way and not the other way, and even how I could make them behave that way..._

_I experimented with my depth in human psychological knowledge to mold the reactions of the people around me, and it has since become effortless for me. I no longer even have to put any effort into influencing people so they would behave the way I want them to. In my own mind, I had grown to think other humans to not be above me from birth, but below me. With simple words out of my mouth, or effortless actions with my body language, I could make people believe whatever I wanted._

_The word 'power' is the clearest of all in my dictionary. It is a simple word with an enormous meaning. Those who have power in the world would have the right to use beautiful words like 'Happiness, 'Peace', or even 'Love'. These words are the trophies of those who have stepped on others, who have abandoned their morals, and have reverted from the ideal human._

_But I was born with a mind that was superior to all others among me. And that is why no matter where I go, and who I meet, everyone will always hate me, and those who pretend not to do so only to use me... No, however close your friends are, they will _**always**_ betray you. That is the truth of this world._

Entry #?

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

Tightly gripping his Core Deck Case in mixed anticipation and barely suppressed excitement, Roa deliberately cracked his neck and slowly made his way down to the lower entrance of the Buddyfight stadium, ready to flatten Kyoya's deranged psycho and put on a good show, '_It's t__ime to get ready for the return of Spirit World._'

Roa's footsteps echoed with a slightly heavy clicking noise, his booted feet slowly and methodically carrying him forward, one step at a time, towards his target. His destination. It was strange, Roa thought, that things were progressing as they were. Everything around him seemed to have some sort of purpose to it; some divine meaning that escaped him utterly. Not even his gift of prophesy could make heads or tails of the turmoil within his own heart.

He felt like some Roman gladiator being sent out to fight for a crowd of bloodthirsty spectators.

Was he looking forward to this fight? Dreading it? Both? Or, neither at all? In a strange way, he didn't really know himself. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why he hadn't participated in a Buddyfight for years... No, it didn't matter.. All he knew is that one way or another, Davide Yamazaki would fall before him soon.

* * *

"That fool has no chance against Sir Roa," Touya easily predicted, though he seemed to be more talking to himself than to anyone else around, "the boy will fall, and I doubt that it will be pleasant to behold."

As Touya prophesied to himself, Axia finally managed to free himself from the crowd of kids in the Castle hobby shop and approached him, "Hey Touya, where'd Roa go?"

Touya turned his blind eyes toward Axia, whom didn't make it out of the crowd of children unscathed, if the rumpledness of his clothes and the occasional ribbon tied in his hair were any indication, "Sir Roa is about to challenge Davide Yamazakito a Buddyfight in the stadium below."

"Wait, he's going to fight that boy?" Turning toward the sadistic cheater currently in the ring, Axia shivered a little, "what's he doing fighting a boy like that? And if he is, why didn't he wait for me so we could fight together? He promised we were partners!"

Touya's face softened, "Sir Roa is anything but a simple person, Axia. As for his opponent, Davide Yamazaki, we know that he is an underling of Kyoya Gaen, the young man who was responsible for your epoch on the cruise ship when you first arrived in our world."

At the mention of Kyoya's name, a small shiver ran down Axia's back and out his tail, '_H-he was the one who tracked me down and captured me!_' he thought with a mixed wave of fear and strong dislike.

"Sir Roa is taking this chance to face him here and now, and with any luck, we will be able to capture him and bring him in to the Buddy police," Touya continued, "as for why he did not wait for you... I can only assume that he wished to protect you from this foe," he explained, before he continued in a sly tone, "not to mention the fact that you were otherwise occupied at the time, and it was now or never to challenge him before he might have left."

Axia gazed sadly at the arena, though his Buddy had yet to emerge from the underground tunnel that lead to the ring, '_Roa..._' he thought sadly, '_When will you realize that you can't keep protecting me at your own cost_?'

Now smiling, Axia replied in a somewhat forced chipper-sounding tone, "Well then, all we have to do is wait for Roa to win then, right?"

If Touya was surprised at Axia's confidence in his boss, then he hid it well, "That's correct... Have you ever watched him Buddyfight before?"

"Only once," Axia replied, briefly flashing back to the day that they met, a day of both great happiness and change for him, "it was... incredible. He fought and saved me when I needed help, when no one else did. It was so strange, in that moment, I felt like we were destined to be together."

Touya gave a rare smile, "Oh? Then, I take it Sir Roa is your 'Prince Charming'?"

"W-what makes you say something like that?" Axia blushed up a storm, trying in vain to his the blush with his palms, "M-me and Roa are Buddies, n-nothing else."

Though his grey eyes were blind, they seemed to pick apart Axia's bluff with frightening ease, "Listen to me Axia, for as long as I've known Sir Roa, I've never been able to understand him. I was never able to know his heart, or feel what he really felt. I was the closest thing that he had to family these last several years, and I don't understand him at all. But..."

"But, what?" Axia asked, right on cue.

"...But, in this very short period since you've entered the fray, he's... different. Brighter. His presence is almost luminescent. Sir Roa's always had a powerful aura about him, but it's never been like this, never so... focused. So sharp." Touya's voice was almost gentle by this point, "Understanding the nature of others has always been what I've been best at, and what I can safely say is... The both of you care for each other very deeply, much more so than either of you believe the other does, I think."

Axia was nearly stunned into silence, the keyword being 'nearly', "Y-you... really mean that?"

"I do." Touya nodded again, "though were you not otherwise occupied before just now, then I have no doubt that Sir Roa would have waited faithfully for you two to fight together. Whether he knows it or not, he needs you; in more ways than one."

Relief flooded through the little Dragowizard, "Oh, that's quite a relief to hear," Axia sighed, "Now, what's say you we cheer him on together?" he asked, as Roa finally began to rise upwards into the arena's empty side, courtesy of the elevating platform.

"Why, you know it."

* * *

"Man, all these wusses are lame," Davide sighed, "almost doesn't make is fun any more... heh, almost." Although the sociopathic boy spent most of his time involved in whatever schemes Kyoya had, Davide had to admit that just kicking the shit out of kids and tormenting them was just as pleasurable. The only downside to his fun was that people were starting to avoid him more, so he received fewer and fewer victims as time went along.

Though Davide's inner musings were cut short as a figure slowly made itself visible against the shadowed darkness of the other side of the stadium's entrance. As the figure on it began to step into the light, Davide paused and carefully examined his challenger. Though he knew that few could match the sheer force that he possessed, Davide quickly found that he could not match the intensity of his challenger's gaze.

Still, something seemed... strange. If it wasn't for what he was seeing, Davide could have sworn that he was standing before the scrutinizing gaze of Kyoya humself... He shook his head. Whatever. After a few moments pause, Davide smirked and began to taunt his opponent, "So, you're gonna be next, huh? I gotta say, you don't look like much."

"Oh really?" his opponent quickly countered, crossing his arms, "I could say much the same thing of you; some stupid kid who gets his cheap kicks from picking on brats for amusement."

The Disaster member snorted, "Oh, that's some attitude for a guy bwho _willingly_ entered the ring. You've got no chance to beat me, so it's not like you have much to brag about, bud."

"Talk is cheap," the blonde countered, pointing at his opponent's Core Deck Case, "if you're so confidant that you can win, then why don't you prove it to me with that deck?"

By this point, Paruko had noticed that a new challenger had appeared to challenge Davide, "Well folks, it looks like a new opponent has stepped up to the plate to challenge Davide Yamazaki! But, I don't recognize the challenger..." she trailed off, unfamiliar with the admittedly handsome young man... She shook her head. Flying down on Takosuke, she extended the mic towards him, "Excuse me, but might we know your name?"

The blonde glanced at the girl. He could already tell that he disliked her, as her presence struck him as overbearing and loud. Her pink hair also reminded him uncomfortably of his old... friend, Siegfried... "Roa," he answered after a drawn-out pause, "Roa Ciel."

"Well folks, there you have it!" the announcer exclaimed, flying back up to hover over the entire ring, "The challenger, Roa Ciel, a relative unknown, is about to take on Davide Yamazaki, known user of the infamous Darkness Dragon World! This match should prove to be interesting, although if you're watching, then I doubt that there'll be any surprises as to who will win!" If Roa didn't like her before, then he loathed her now. He could already tell that she favored Davide over himself, due in part to the infamy of the World he used, yes, but she was also being obviously biased in her role as a commentator.

Davide's Dark Core Deck Case began to glow as it transformed into his choker, "It rocks so hard it crushes! Dark Lumenize! The Black Dragon!" he shouted, swiping his arm across and lumenizing his opening hand and gauge into existence before him.

"The bonds between Past and Future, the nexus of Worlds, the promise of eternity! Silent Lumenise!" Roa shouted, as His Core Deck case glowed purple and hovered out of his grasp into the air, though strangely, it didn't transform into anything... "The Immortal Spirits!" Just like his foe, Roa's hand and gauge materialized into existence before him.

"_Time to raise the Flag!_" both players declared as one, as they each brandished their World flag, though only Davide seemed to posses a Buddy monster by his side at the moment, "I fight for Darkness Dragon World!" he licked his lips briefly, eagerly awaiting his opponent to follow.

"I fight for Spirit World," Roa stated calmly, as his flag fluttered behind him. The flag's design was an aqua-blue orb with a dark purple background. Around the orb, there seemed to be wispy, vaguely-transparent curls of fog circling it as the planets revolve around the sun.

Everyone seemed stunned for a brief moment or two before Paruko realized that she too was staring in awe, "W-what's this? In an amazing twist, the challenger has revealed a World that this reporter has never heard of!" she commentated into her microphone, "First Darkness Dragon World, and now this mysterious Spirit World! Its almost as if new Worlds are appearing day after day, waiting to answer the beck and call of Buddyfights everywhere!"

'_I doubt it_,' Roa internally sneered a little as he clenched his fist tightly, '_as if I'd ever let someone else use **my** World_.'

"Heh, last chance to back out punk," Davide stuck out his tongue at Roa, "you go any further and there won't be any turning back for you."

The blonde looked dismissively at the crazed teen, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he asked, "I _do_ understand your reluctance to fight me, though. After all, everyone meets their better sooner or later."

"Ok, now you're dead, kid," Davide growled lowly. Shots had been fired, and he _damn well_ wasn't about to turn and run away with his tail between his legs, not after this guy's attitude, "heh, in fact, I think I'm about to enjoy this."

"Try hard enough and I may actually enjoy myself," Roa countered, "unless of course, you don't have what it takes - but that'd be no surprise.

Paruko grinned, finally getting a chance to begin the match in between the two player's trash talking, "OK everybody, say it with me! _Buudddyyyy~_" she began.

"**FIGHT!**"

* * *

"Man I'm hungry," Drum whined, "can't we stop and grab lunch, Gao?"

Gao rolled his eyes, "We already had lunch Drum, it's only been a few minutes since then. Besides, with the Gaen Cup postponed for 'inter-corporate issues', we might as well be killing some time." After yesterday's matches, a notice had been sent out to all tournament participants that the Gaen Cup was put on temporary hold for a day or two to sort out an issue within the Gaen Financial Group, though nobody had any clue what that problem was...

"You're kidding me, I though that was just a snack!" Drum protested, his stomach growling in a highly comedic manner, as if to prove his point.

"...You ate a whole pizza, 7 pudding cups, and an entire bowl of takoyaki," Asmodai deadpanned.

"So, what's your point?"

Everyone gave a collective sweatdrop as Drum began to squabble about being deprived of his rightfully-deserved lunch, though it was quickly cut short as a Noboru ran up to the group, "Hey Gao, there's a Buddyfight that just started! You gotta come see!"

"Hey noboru, what's up?" Gao grinned excitedly, before continuing without giving Noboru a chance to reply, "All right, a Buddyfight! C'mon guys, let's go watch!" as Gao and his friends began to walk off towards the Castle's Buddyfight arena, Kazane turned to Gao's classmate, "So, what's the fight about?"

For once, Noboru was practically vibrating with excitement, "Well, that crazy guy from team Darkness Masterminds who hangs out here a lot was beating down on the kids that he won against, and then this guy showed up and challenged him! But the REALLY cool part is that he's using a World we've never heard of before!"

"Whoa whoa, slow down; WHO was this crazy guy that this person challenged?" Kazane asked.

"You know, that creepy guy who uses Darkness dragon World, what's his name..."

"Davide Yamazaki!" Gao growled, "I should of known, of course he'd still be trying to use Buddyfight to bully other people."

Kazane blinked in surprise and shuddered a little, "Aww man, he was that creep who cheated in our fight, wasn't he?" she asked sadly, recalling one of the few Buddyfight in which she really didn't have a fun time.

"Indeed Ms. Kazane," Bladewing Phoenix hooted out from inside her hood, "I remember that ill-mannered mongrel quite well! His uncouth behavior and deplorable manners were quite atrocious!" he squawked and flapped his wings angrily.

As the Dungeon World owl continued off on his ranting tangent, Zanya spoke up, "What can you tell up about this mysterious person who brought it upon himself to challenge Davide Yamazaki?" he asked, his glasses flashing toward the kitten shirt-wearing boy, "What can you tell us about him?"

Noboru seemed surprised at the mention of the as-of-yet untouched upon challenger, "Well, I've never seem him before, but he looked kinda serious. He's got blonde hair and a long blue coat, but I don't know who he is."

'_Wait... blonde hair, a blue coat, could it be...?_' Gao thought, and as it crossed his mind, he and his friends finally began to get within eye's reach of the Castle's Buddyfight Arena. And as they all got closer, they could see someone familiar standing with the spectators, watching down below as the fight began...

Gao blinked, "Huh, Axia?" at his words, the Dragowizard turned in surprise, "Is that you?"

"Gao!" Axia exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "and Drum! Baku, Kuguru, Zanya! What are you all doing here?" he asked, not expecting to have bumped into the gang here.

"That's what we were wondering," Baku scratched his nose, "The Gaen Cup was postponed for a while, but what's up? I mean, what are you up to?"

Now drawn to Axia's conversation, Touya turned around, "Oh, are these friends of yours, Axia?" he asked, his grey eyes smoothly combing over the group before him. Everyone couldn't help but give a collective wince at the blue haired boy's gaze, as he almost seemed to look right through them instead of seeing them...

"That's right, these are all friends of mine!" Axia giggled as he swept an arm over in everyone else's direction, "before I met Roa, this is everyone that I hung out with."

Touya's expression was unreadable, "I see," he muttered. Stepping forward, he politely extended a hand forward, "I'm Touya Yushima, Sir Roa's aid and personal secretary; a pleasure to make your acquaintancre."

"N-nice to meet you man; I'm Gao Mikado!" Gao exclaimed good-naturedly as he shook Touya's hand, stuttering a little as the older boy's blind eyes. After Gao introduced himself, everyone else took turns with their own introduction to Touya, although Asmodai seemed to treat him carefully, as if he were shaking hands with an animal that could bite him at any moment. No one else except Touya himself seemed to notice, however.

"So Axia, if you're here, then where is Roa?" Kuguru looked around, not seeing the blonde anywhere.

Axia blinked and looked up at the girl, "Oh, why, he's in the ring. He just started a Buddyfight against that scary boy, Davide," he replied, "Me and Touya are watching."

"Wait, _he_'s fighting Davide Yamazaki?" Gao's eyes widened, '_So that _is _who Noboru was talking about_,' Gao though to himself, remembering the strange person that his classmate mentioned who had challenged the Disaster member. But wait... "Axia, if he's Buddyfighting, then how come you're still up here? I mean, shouldn't you be down there with him?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Drum accused, "How come that guy isn't even fighting with his own Buddy?" he scowled. Normally, he wasn't a staunch supporter of Axia, but something about a person not fighting alongside their Buddy just rubbed him the wrong way, "I can't believe that guy, what a piece of-"

"No, you're wrong!" Axia nearly shouted, silencing everyone else in an instant. Blinking, Axia only then seemed to notice his own outburst and quickly retreated back into his meeker shell, "I-I mean, that's not what happened," he stuttered a little, pushing his little index fingers together, "You see, Roa challenged him while I was still busy, and by the time I got back, they had already started, so I couldn't join him..."

"I see, so you missed you chance then," Zanya quickly understood, "and since you can't change your World upon the start of a game, he was unable to fight with Axia as his Buddy this time."

Baku blinked, "Wait, hold up; other World?" he asked, his inner deck builder coming out a little, "Axia, you're a Magic World monster, right?" Axia nodded in conformation, "then, what other World is he using?"

"I believe I can answer that question," Touya spoke up, "You see, Sir Roa is using a World of his own discovery known as Spirit World."

"Spirit World?" Kuguru asked, as she quickly fiddled with her tablet for a moment, "I'm not finding anything about it on the Buddyfight forums... And what do you mean, 'of his own discovery'?"

"As you shouldn't," Touya agreed, "but to answer your question, Sir Roa and his company worked hand-in-hand with the Buddy Police, and were often contracted to locate and discover new Worlds that have yet to be found. Spirit World is only one such World among a vast collection of others, although Sir Roa has express permission to be the only valid user of that World in particular."

Of course, there was MUCH more to it than that, but at least that much he could give away. What they didn't know was everything Touya said was information that anyone running a fairly comprehensive background check against Ciel Co. would gather, and no more. But, he figured it should be sufficient to sate their curiosity.

Everyone else seemed stunned for a few long moments, "Whoa," Baku muttered, an elated gleam in his eyes, "What I'd give to make a deck out of a whole, brand-new World." Was it everyone else's imagination, or was he... drooling a little?

After everyone took a collective step away from the now-confirmed drooling Baku, Gao shifted his attention down into the ring, looking not only at Davide, but also Roa as well, "Whoa, he looks intense," he muttered. And Roa did. His expression bore absolutely no outward traces of excitement or enjoyment of the moment, only an iron desire for victory and a cold condescendence for his foe.

Kazane stiffened as an uncomfortable shiver ran down her spine involuntarily, '_That look..._' she thought, being eerily reminded of when she fought against Shosetsu Kirisame. The direct, closed way he presented himself was a nearly dead match, in Kazane's opinion, for the Legend World user of Sengoku Academy. Kazane had the sudden thought that Roa wasn't a very happy person, and didn't know how to just kick back and have fun like she did. Whatever initial reservation she had for him was quickly turning to sympathy; she of all people could tell when a person was broken on the inside...

Though if anyone else noticed it, then they didn't comment on it, "C'mon Roa! I know you can do it!" Axia cheered his Buddy on, whilst everyone else was silent, at least for the moment.

It was time for the Buddyfight to begin!

* * *

"Davide Yamazaki has the first move!" Pauko declared as the Disaster member grinned.

"Charge and Draw!" Davide declared, as he went first, increasing his hand and gauge appropriately, _'Heh, this sucker's gonna have no idea what his him,_' he snickered internally, '_Once he gets a taste of my Spectral Strike, he's gonna wish he never challenged me._'

"I call Death Wizard Dragon to the Right area!" Davide called out, flinging the card over the its appropriate spot on the field. As a result, his gauge increased by two cards, but before he took any damage via it's effect, "I also cast Black Dragon Shield to void taking the damage from it's effect, as well as to gain an extra Life," he grinned, his Life increasing to eleven, "Then I'll call Black Dragon Spinechiller to the center!"

'_Clever kid,_' Roa analyzed with some admittance, '_normally, most people only call one monster on their first turn, but he called Death Wizard Dragon first so he could first gain two gauge, and then use his Black Dragon Shield to avoid taking the damage it's effect gives. He then followed up with calling Black Dragon Spinechiller to the center._'

"Now, Death Wizard Dragon! Go and attack the fighter!" he pointed at Roa. The dragon lunged at Roa and swiped at him removing two of his Life and bringing him down to eight." Though other than take his Life down a little, the attack only seemed to blow his hair about for a moment, as he gave away no other reaction.

"Huh? Not even a flinch or anything?" Davide seemed taken aback for a moment.

Roa's stare was steadfast, "Sorry," he apologized, though he both looked and sounded completely insincere, "but I leave that to my opponents."

Davide's eye twitched, something about this guy was managing to get under his skin, and seemingly with little effort on his part, Tch, fine! Then go," he growled.

"Very well then," Roa stated calmly, as he reached up to his Core Deck case, "Draw. Charge and Draw."

As he scanned the cards that he had drawn for a moment, the audience, namely Gao and co. were discussing what they thought of the match so far, "I don't know about you bro, but that was a pretty choice move on Davide's part," Baku spoke aloud, "He bypassed the negative drawback of his monster, gained two gauge, and called a monster to his center."

"You're right," Kuguru agreed, "he set himself up well for a counterattack next turn too. Things might not go so well for Roa," she stated worryingly.

But Gao shook his head, "Nah, he'll be fine," he smiled, as everyone else looked at him in surprise, "Besides, it's way to early to tell whose gonna win anyways, but I got a good feeling about Roa."

"That's right Gao~wow!" Axia agreed swiftly, "I know Roa's gonna beat that big bully, he doesn't even stand a chance!"

"I hope you're right Axia."

Roa finally spoke up, "It seems that what I need isn't in my hand at the moment," he stated, as Davide smirked in response, "but, unluckily for you, I have what I need to get it. I cast Intervention of Fate." he declared, the spell shining brightly in his hand.

As Paruko broke out the Takoscope to check out the spell, she announced, "Well folks, it looks like the spell that Roa just used allows him to add any card from his deck straight to his hand at the cost of one gauge and two Life!"

"ANY CARD?!" Davide's eyes bugged a little, "No way!"

"Man, that's a sweet card, but it's also a pretty risky move," Baku commented offhand, twirling his lollypop around, "especially to use on his first turn. If whatever he's planning doesn't work, then he'll be at a major disadvantage."

As the chosen card from Roa's deck floated into his hand, Roa's gauge decreased to one and his Life to seven, then, "Now I pay 1 Life to cast Spirit's Invitation!" he declared, his Life further falling to six, although he gained three gauge as a result of the card's ability.

"What does he think he's doing?" Zanya muttered to himself, "if he keeps this up, then he'll use up all of his own Life..."

Davide chuckled to himself, "You're pretty reckless with your own Life points, aren't you?" he asked, his tongue hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"Not at all," Roa smirked for the first time in the game, but it wasn't a happy or even excited. It was a dark, confidant smirk, with barely concealed malice beneath it's surface, "I pay one gauge and call Immortal Spirit, Asura to the center! And then I call Immortal Spirit, Tsukuyomi to the right!" As the two monsters were called, the audience got a good look at them.

Asura was a blue-skinned man with a total of six arms and was dressed in a vaguely Arabic fashion, while Tsukuyomi seemed to be a beautiful young woman with long black hair, garbed in a billowing white uniform of an ancient Japanese Shinto priest. Strangely though, each of them seemed to be vaguely transparent, although this was only noticeable when one stared directly at them. From the corner of one's eye, they could have easily passed off as completely solid.

"For all of you watching, we've just gotten out very first look at the incredible monsters of this Spirit World!" Paruko spoke into her microphone excitedly, "I wonder how things will progress from here on out!"

"Now that it has been called to the field, Tsukuyomi can use her ability," Roa stated, "so, one card in your gauge is destroyed, while I get to place the top card from my deck into my gauge as well." Davide sneered as his gauge was cut down by another card, lowering it to four, while his opponent's increased back to four again, "And now I set the card I added to my hand earlier; Great Spell, Spirit Spring of Life!" he declared, the shining orb that represented his card floating up over him.

"So, that's the card he searched for with his first spell, huh?" Gao asked, "It must be really awesome for him to try and get it so early."

"Now, Immortal Spirit, Asura, go attack his center monster!" As Asura readied to attack, a long-bladed knife appeared in each of his six arms, as it promptly threw each of them all at once at Black Dragon Spinechiller. As the monster disappeared in a flash of orange light, Roa continued, "Now my Asura, demonstrate your ability: Multiple Attacks!"

"Come again?!" Paruko practically fell out of her personal UFO.

As more daggers appeared in Asura's many-handed grasps, Roa elaborated, "My Asura has the ability to attack each and every monster on the opponent's field, if I so chose to do so," he cleared up, "Now, take out his Death Wizard Dragon too!" As the six knives sang through the air, Davide could only growl to himself as his second monster was promptly destroyed as well.

"And now Tsukuyomi, go and attack the fighter!" Roa pointed at Davide, as his monster then dealt one damage to Davide, whose life fell back down to ten. But then, Roa's set spell began to glow...

"Huh, what's going on?" Paruko asked, "Folks, his set spell seems to be activating!"

The blonde nodded, "That's correct; you see, as long as my set spell remains in play, I gain whatever Life my opponent loses, so I now gain the one point that he just lost," he explained, his Life climbing a point to seven.

"Heh, no biggie," Davide tried to play it off, "I'm still three points ahead of you."

"And now that my turn has come to an end, my Spirit monsters must leave, I'm afraid," Roa continued, "Now my Spirits, return to my hand!" As the two monsters returned to card form, they each flew back right into Roa's hand, where they came from, "now before you all ask, all Spirit monsters return to the player's hand during the end of the turn that they're called to the field," he explained.

"Oh, I get it," Baku muttered, "Kinda like Boomerang Dragon, they return to your hand after they complete their purpose. But then, they also leave him wide open for a counterattack too," he realized, "what kind of strategy is that...?" he trailed off, though only because the set spell began to glow once more.

"Oh yes, my set spell has another ability as well; each time a Spirit monster returns to my hand, I gain an additional life as well," he smirked, his Life climbing again to nine.

Paruko was practically bouncing, "Oh wow, what a move! In an incredible turn of events, the challenger not only destroyed bot of Davide Yamazaki's monsters and dealt one damage, but ALSO gained three Life in the process!"

"Heh, you think that's a move?" Davide chuckled, "Watch and learn! Draw! Charge and Draw!"

* * *

In another place, the Disaster member known as gremlin was watching the fight through the power of his Dark Core Deck case.

He always had a vested interest in how the decks he created performed, especially the Darkness Dragon World decks that he made for Shido and Davide. Not that he cared much about either of them personally, but their decks and cards instead, "Not good," he muttered, "What that fool Davide has yet to realize that his Spectral Strike has no use against this fighter," he muttered.

And it was true - with no monsters left in play on Roa's field, there were no monsters for Davide to destroy and use his own monster's abilities upon, "I would have never thought that a deck existed that could counter the Spectral Strike ability of Darkness Dragon World, much less do it without any effort," he thought aloud, eyeing Davide's opponent's field "That Set Spell in particular is trouble. This is one fight that Davide can't possibly win."

Gremlin folded his arms behind his back and began to pace a little, "Without the aid of the unique ability of his Spectral Strike, the main strength of his deck is cut in half, at the very least," Gremlin figured, "once Davide looses, I'll have to tweak the deck to factor in the possibility of an opponent bypassing Spectral Strike, crazy as it may sound."

* * *

"I call Bloody Moon dragon to the right!" Davide flung his card to the right area, the monster appearing to follow, "Then I pay 1 gauge and Buddycall Death Dragon, Deathgaze Dragon to the left!" and with that, the serpentine dragon was summoned to the left area, Davide's gauge dropping to four and his Life climbing to eleven, once again.

"And with his Buddy called, Davide Yamazaki gains 1 Life thanks to his Buddygift!" Paruko spoke up, "Things are starting to heat up, and with no monsters of his own in play, they're not looking good for Roa!"

Davide smirked, "Oh, I'm just getting warmed up! I pay one more gauge and Equip Evil Death Scythe!" As the Disaster member's gauge dropped to three, a large, wickedly curved scythe fell into his grasp. Davide chuckled to himself, "So then, are you ready to play?"

Roa calmly regarded his foe, "Ready?" before he smirked, "That all depends on what you mean - if you mean, 'Am I superior to you in every way?', then yes."

"What'd you say?!" Davide gripped his scythe so hard that his knuckles were white.

Roa's smirk didn't fade, "I'm ready, go for it," he widened his stance a bit and continued, "In fact; I'll make you a little bet. Now only will I beat you, but I'll win with even _more_ Life points than I started out with."

"Fine! Bloody Moon Dragon, go and attack the fighter!" Davide roared, the Darkness Dragon World monster taking flight and lunging at Roa, it's swipe swiftly removing two of his life and bringing him down to seven, "Now Deathgaze, it's your turn! Go and show this poser who's boss!"

"Heh heh heh... That's my job," Deathgaze chuckled to himself before he decked underneath the water and swam in a stealth-like manner towards Roa until he reared up out of the water and slashed at his foe, removing one more Life in the process.

But, Roa still seemed unimpressed, "It that all you've got?"

"Not at all!" Davide hefted the scythe in his grasp, "I haven't even had my chance yet!" and with that, he leaped into the air and took off, practically flying at Roa, "Here's Davide!" he shouted.

"Roa, look out!" Axia cried out from the sidelines, as he watched his buddy about to be cut down by his foe's weapon, until...

"I cast Soul Shield!" Roa declared, as a large, flaming golden shield appeared protectively in front of him, no doubt summoned forth by the card he held within his hand.

Paruko was quick to check it out, "For those of you watching, Roa just managed to evade Davide's own attack using his Soul Shield card, which according to my Takoscope, nullifies an opponent's attack and regains one Life for the player, with a cast cost of discarding one card from your hand."

Roa's Life climbed back up to seven once more, "I told you that you weren't in my league."

"Just go already!" Davide huffed, uncharacteristically annoyed by his opponent's constant attitude of superiority.

"Fine, I Draw. Charge and Draw." Roa increased his gauge and hand once more, his gauge now at five cards, until, "I pay one Life to cast Spirit's Invitation!" as his Life fell once more to six, although his gauge correspondingly rose to a grand total of eight cards.

Up in the stands, Kuguru adjusted her glasses, "I think I get it now," she muttered, as the group turned to listen to her, "This Spirit World must be heavily dependent of maintaining a large gauge for some reason, which is why he's been so carefree with his Life points..."

"...Because he knows that he can afford to lose them," Baku realized, "Of course, why didn't I figure it out sooner?"

Gao seemed lost on it all, "Uh, figure what out?"

"That he can be as reckless with his own Life points as he wants to; as long as that set spell of his remains in play, he can continue to pump up his Life every turn, which is what counteracts the apparent weakness of all his monsters returning to his hand!"

"That's right," surprisingly, this time it was Axia who chimed in, "you see, the day I met Roa, before we became Buddies, I saw him Buddyfight someone too. And things are going just like that day... So keep watching, ok?" he asked everyone else, "then you'll understand why I know he'll win."

"Now I pay one gauge and call Immortal Spirit, Mitama to the center position!" As Roa's gauge dropped a card, a small, almost impish creature appeared. It was almost cute, save for the bright blue aura that it gave off, resembling a small fire.

Davide almost laughed, "Heh, and what are you gonna do with that thing? It's puny!"

"You should know that size isn't always everything," Roa advised, "What my Mitama lacks in power, it more than compensates for with its ability! Now, Mitama lets me select one Spirit Monster from my deck and add it straight to my hand!" As Roa chose the monster from his deck, he continued, "And now, I'll call that monster directly to the field! I pay two gauge and call Immortal Spirit, Shinigami to the right!"

Flinging his chosen monster card to its designated spot, the card summoned forth a monster that could have easily passed itself off as a creature from Darkness Dragon World. It was a human-sized thing wrapped in a slightly tattered dark purple robe with a stained, off-white lining. But, that wasn't the worst part. The creature itself appeared to be a human skeleton, nigh indistinguishable from that of a real human, save for elongated teeth and finger bones, and a pair of demonic horns growing out of its skull, not to mention the reddish glow emanating from its empty eye sockets. Everyone watching gave a collective shudder, save for one person...

"Heh, looks like you've actually got yourself a cool looking monster in that deck of yours," Davide grinned, "I was getting tired of all of that weird and cutesy stuff you were running earlier, now THIS is a little more like it!"

Roa eyed him, "Well, let's see how tired you are of me after I do THIS! Shinigami, demonstrate to Mr. Yamazaki here your power." Upon Roa's command, the Shinigami opened its jaw and exhaled a thick, blackish mist that quickly enveloped the entire playing field.

"*Cough* H-hey, what g-*Cough*-going on? W-what is this shit?!" Davide coughed as the foul-smelling smog permeated the playing field.

Roa seemed to be the only one unaffected by the putrid mist, "My monster's ability; when he's called to the field, all other monsters are automatically destroyed!" As his foe's eyed grew wide amidst his coughs, his two dragons began to rapidly rot and decay away under the fog of death, until they were gone completely, "And of course, this includes my very own Mitama as well! Now Spirit Monster, begone!" Roa shouted, as his own monster quickly succumbed to the effect.

"He just destroyed his own monster!" Paruko continued, though she was fortunate enough to have flown out of the range of the fog before she had the displeasure of smelling it, "But wow, what a move! With that one monster alone, he destroyed two of Davide's monsters without breaking a sweat!"

By this point, Shinigami's ability was no longer in play, and the fog had already cleared itself with a surprising degree of swiftness, "And I'm not done yet either! With my Mitama now gone, I have the room to call Immortal Spirit, Rakshasa to the left!" As Roa's second monster appeared, it took on the form of a large, humanoid boar-like creature with large tusks and flaming red eyes. It growled threateningly at Davide, "Now for my Rakshasa's ability; when he's called to the field, I can check the top card of my deck, then I can either return it there, or place it at the bottom of my deck."

"So, it's a card that lets him know what he's gonna draw before he actually draws it!" Asmodai spoke up for the first time in a while, "Gotta hand it to him, that's pretty useful - and if you don't like what you see, then you can scrap it and hope to draw something better next time. Not too bad."

The top card of Roa's deck floated out of his aloft Core Deck Case and appeared before its user. As Roa examined it for a moment, he tilted his head in thought, before he quickly made up his mind, "No, I don't think this card will do - I choose to return it to the bottom of my deck." And just like that, the card returned to Roa's Core Deck Case, this time on the very opposite end of where it was drawn from though.

"Now that that's out of the way, Immortal Spirit Shinigami! Attack the fighter!" Roa exclaimed passionately, as his monster once more let out its dark smog-like breath which enveloped Davide, his Life being reduced by two points to rest at nine points, "And as I'm sure you remember, thanks to my set spell, your loss becomes my gain."

Davide glared as Roa's life snaked its way back up to eight points, "But I'm not done yet! Rakshasa, it's your turn!" And with Rakshasa's attack as well, Davide's Life dropped another one point to rest at eight points, while Roa's correspondingly rose to nine, "I'll take that point as well, thanks," he stated somewhat mockingly, "And now that they've served their purpose, my Spirit monsters clear the field." As the two monsters returned to Roa's hand, the set spell, once more, activated, bringing Roa's Life back up to a grand total of eleven, "Your move."

"And with that stunning turn of events, Roa's now back in the lead!" Paruko exclaimed excitedly, "Folks, I don't know if I've ever seen a Buddyfight quite like this one before! Even I can't tell what'll happen next or who'll maintain a definitive lead!"

"Alright, that it!" Davide yelled, "I'm getting sick of this crap! Draw, Charge and Draw!"

As Davide gathered both his cards and his temper under control, Touya couldn't help but to analyze the fight, '_From the sound of things, Sir Roa has managed to get underneath Mr. Yamazaki's skin, but that's no surprise,_' he thought cryptically to himself, '_Now, what will you do next?_'

Davide calmed down after a moment and grinned in a sadistic manner, "I call Black Dragon, Taradanus to the right, and another Bloody Moon Dragon to the left!" Davide summoned his monsters, "Now then, I think I'll start things off!" And with another wipe of his scythe, Roa's Life dropped to nine once more, "But don't think you're getting off the hook that easy! Taradanus, Bloody Moon! Do a Link Attack on the fighter now!"

"As if it'd be that easy! I cast Power Wall!" And wish his new spell cast, Roa physically plucked out the top seven cards of his deck and almost carelessly flung them into the air; the cards forming a flaming blue barrier that mostly blocked the attack, though his Life still dropped a point to eight, "Thanks to my Power Wall spell, I can reduce the damage I would have taken by three points. All I had to do was scrap the top seven cards of my deck," Roa explained, his burning cards fluttering to the ground, "so your attack's been cut down to size."

"Heh, that's pretty cold of you, isn't it?" Davide smirked, hefting his scythe over his shoulder, "disrespecting your cards and treating them like trash, isn't it? You know, I pegged you as a good guy at first, but guess I was wrong - some hero _you_ are!"

Roa glared him down, as Davide could have sworn that he saw a flash of scarlet within his eyes, "Hero? ...What kind of _idiot_ did you expect me to be?" Davide's stunned response was all the answer he needed, "Know this Davide Yamazaki; it's not _how_ you play the game, it's whether or not you win or lose!"

"Roa..." Axia muttered, a look of disbelief on his face. Although if he was being honest with himself, this wasn't the first time he had seen this side of his Buddy. Briefly reflecting on the day that they each met one another, Axia recalled the ruthless manner in which Roa dispatched that boy who was harassing him at the time - it was the same one that he was displaying now, '_Roa,_ _I don't get it, what's happening to you?_' he thought. Precious memories of the kind, eager-to-please Roa flashed through his mind one after another, the Roa that Axia wanted to spend the rest of his life with; _his_ Roa. Not this stony-faced, almost cruel person that he was watching right now.

No, Axia was sure of one thing: whoever guy was, he wasn't Roa.

"It's _my_ turn!" Roa roared, "Draw! Charge and Draw!" With little to no delay, Roa impatiently snatched one of the cards in his hand, "Since you're so familiar with it already, I cast another Intervention of fate!" And with that, Roa's Life dropped to six and his gauge to four while he picked his next chosen card.

"I wonder what card he picked this time," Baku muttered, twirling the lollipop that he had in his mouth around a little.

As if answering his inquiry, Roa then made as if to use the card that he chose, "I get a feelin' that we're about to find out, yo!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

"Now, with more than seven cards in my Drop Zone with 'Spirit' Attributes, I can discard the Yasakani no Magatama and Yata no Kagami cards from my hand in order to equip my Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!" Roa's item spell shine brightly before it quickly faded to reveal a beautiful blade in his hand. The blade was a simple-yet-elegant katana with a long, slender blade that rested comfortable in his grasp, yet also looked wickedly sharp.

Giving the blade a few experimental swings, as unused to the weight of it in his hand, Roa continued a moment later, "And now, I pay two gauge and call Immortal Spirit, Susano'o to the right area!" As the bright orange lift that signaled the summoning of a new monster first shone brightly and then quickly faded away, revealing a vaguely Chinese-looking warrior wearing ethereal blue armor that gave off tendrils and wisps of blue aura, "And then to the right, I call Immortal Spirit, Inaba!"

This time, it wasn't what anyone was expecting: a tiny, almost cute, white bunny with large, floppy ears and big, shining eyes that quickly made many females in the audience 'coo' and 'aww' in collective cuteness, the monster resembling a stuffed animal more than anything. The only thing that made people look twice was the almost comically-large, missile-esque contraption that it was holding onto, looking like a miniature rocket on steroids.

"Now my Inaba rabbit, attack!" And with that, the missile that Inaba was grasping onto fired up and the whole thing took off high into the air, Inaba still clutching to it, even as it bounced off the ceiling and the upper walls of the stadium like a pinball possessed, as quite a few females in the audience were squealing in fright that the bunny would hold on and not go flying off.

"You... gotta be... kidding me," Davide muttered, his eye twitching, "That thing looks ridiculous! How could that bunny attack _anything_?"

Roa smiled, "You don't think it can do anything, huh? Well then, Inaba, attack the fighter!" As the rocket-powered rabbit descended, it smashed down into Davide and removed a whopping three Life points, bringing him down to five, while Roa's rose to nine.

"The fuck?! How the hell'd that little Size 1 monster do _three_ damage points?!" Davide's eyes bulged out while his teeth were wickedly pointed in his comical rage.

Paruko quickly had the answer for everyone to hear, "Well folks, while his Inaba normally only has a critical of two, as long as his Susano'o monster is in play, it seems that all of his Spirit monsters get a bonus of +3000 power and +1 critical. Who knew?"

"That would be _me_. And that includes my Susano'o as well! Now, take him down!" As Susano'o lunged at Davide, the Disaster member growled to himself. He had had enough!

"I cast Black Dragon Shield!" Susano'o slammed into the shield with a grunt of surprise, as Davide regained one Life point, bringing him right back up to six, "Heh, you thought you had me? As if!"

Roa hefted his Kusanagi, "I'm not finished yet! You've still yet to fight me directly, so don't get so comfortable!" Roa darted at Davide in a surprising show of agility, clearing half of the football-field sized arena in just a matter of seconds. Though right before Roa was on him, Davide smirked and slipped a hand into his back pocket...

"I cast! Another Black Dragon Shield!" he yelled, using the ill-gotten card in an attempt to block Roa's final attack.

Asmodai glared down at him, "He did NOT just do that," he muttered.

"Wait, did he just cheat?" Tetsuya scratched his head, "pretty sure I just saw him pull a card on Roa."

"How disrespectful," Zanya scowled, crossing his arms in an disapproving way, "a player who resorts to cheating in order to win has no honor."

Gao clenched his fists, "He hasn't changed one bit since the last time we fought," he growled, "he'll do anything to win, even if it means breaking the rules."

"That guy's rotten to the core!" Drum yelled, "he's got no right to be a Buddyfighter!"

Surprisingly, the usually shy and reserved Axia was right there beside Drum, voicing his own complaints, "I can't believe that he would actually resort to cheating like that!" he gasped, "Does he really have no honor? No sense of fair play? Someone should disqualify him!"

"You think that something like _that_ will stop me?" Roa shouted, as he leaped above the shield, "Well you're _wrong_!" And with that, he brought the Kusanagi down onto Davide's Black Dragon shield and cleanly sliced right through it, the grass longsword dealing an incredible five points of damage, while the sheer force of the strike sent Davide flying several feet away, as he landed in a crumpled heap.

As Davide struggled to his feet, Roa's attack brought him down to a measly one Life point, while Roa's climbed to an incredible fourteen, although no one was much paying attention to that, instead opting to ogle at Davide's end of the field, "What the hell was THAT?!" he shouted, "How did your attack make it through my shield?! You... had to have cheated!"

"...You think _I_ cheated?" Roa glowered down at him, "You've got quite a lot of nerve, don't you?" he asked, "Especially since _you_ pulled that card out of your back pocket... Or maybe it was out of your ass, I couldn't quite tell."

Davide finally got completely onto his feet, just in time for Roa to turn around and begin walking back to his side of the field, "Like you can prove anything! And that doesn't explain how your attack make it through anyways!"

Without turning around, Roa tapped his Kusanagi against his shoulder, "When it's the only card attacking, my Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi can't be stopped by any card with "Shield" in its name, THAT'S how."

Up in the stands, Asmodai whistled lowly, "Man, that's some card - I thought I heard of it before," at everyone else's inquisitive look, he explained, "That sword's one of the three legendary Spirit Artifacts, along with the Yata no Kagami and the Yasakani no Magatama - according to legend, wielding all three makes their user completely invincible. But, I though they were lost thousands of years ago - countless monsters have spent their entire lives searching for them with no success. Even I thought they were just a myth..."

"...Man, that's off the hook," Tetsuya muttered.

"...Keh, lucky shot!" Davide grit his teeth and tried to pass it off, though no one watching, not even Paruko, seemed to be buying it, "And you haven't beaten me yet, I'm still in this game!" By then, Roa had reached his side of the stage once more.

"Oh, any you're wrong about _that_ too," he stated smirking to himself without turning around. Davide looked at Roa's back questionably, "This match is as good as done. It's time for Final Phase."

Turning around, Roa slowly raised a card, all four cards of his gauge fading away, "I cast: Destined Misfortune!" an enormously bright light filled the arena, as everyone present shielded their eyes from the harsh rays.

"W-what's going on?!" Paruko shrieked, "I can't see!" Though thankfully after a long moment, the light faded away, only to reveal that Davide's life was now at zero. His Darkness Dragon World flag exploded in a glimmering shower of orange light and sparks as the automatic voice declared:

**GAME OVER! WINNER: Roa Ciel!**

Everyone was silent for a long moment as they all tried to process exactly what just happened. Roa walker over to Davide, whose mouth was in full gape, while his right eve was twitching full-auto by this point, "Well, I guess that you lose after all," he stated with a trace amount of smugness in his voice.

"We'll see whose a loser after I do THIS!" Davide shouted, finally pushed over his limit, "Disaster Force, activate!" he called out, touching the Core Deck Case choker that was around his neck. A dark purple aura quickly enveloped him as his hair grew longer and spikier, the Death Scythe that was previously in his grasp now reappeared in his hand, although it now seemed a fair deal heavier and more substantial then before...

"Hey, it's that Dark power again!" Gao gasped, "C'mon guys, we gotta get him outta there!"

As Gao started to run in the direction of the ring's entrance, Touya grabbed Gao's wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks, "No Gao, don't."

"But, he needs our help!" Gao protested, "He doesn't know what he's getting himself into! I thought you were his friend, so why aren't you helping him?"

Touya simply shook his head, "Because I know that Sir Roa does not _need_ my help, Gao. Please trust me, he can handle himself - if you don't believe me, then just watch."

* * *

Davide cackled, "Not so tough are you now, huh? Now, take THIS!" the Disaster member shouted as he ran towards Roa and leaped into the air, his Death Scythe brandished overhead as he prepared to bring the wickedly sharp weapon down upon Roa's head.

"Oh man!" Gao shouted, "Roa, get outta there man!"

"I can't watch!" Kazane buried her face in her hands.

"Somebody better do something, yo!" Tetsuya protested.

"Roa, no!" Axia cried.

As Davide brought his scythe down upon Roa in a rage-induced swing, there was a quick blur of movement from Roa and a brief flash of light before a resounding '_CLANG_' rang through the arena. Everyone stared in shock at what had just happened.

Mere inches from his face, Roa had stopped the Scythe dead in its tracks, though it was how he did it that left everyone gaping. In his grasp was the same katana sword that he used before; the Kusanagi. The difference being that it was somehow now just as real as the scythe that Davide was holding, and it was holding the Death Scythe firmly in place as a solid guard. Roa's Core Deck Case was also glowing a vibrant lilac.

"H-he, made the power of his cards real too!" Gao exclaimed, completely at a loss as to what he was seeing. Touya was the only one who didn't seem surprised at what just happened.

"W-what the hell?" but nobody seemed quite as stunned as Davide about what just happened, "but, how-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Roa grabbed the shaft of Davide's scythe with his left hand and give it a sudden and unexpected yank laterally. His balance now lost, Davide fell forward with a yell, as the blonde expertly ducked down underneath the wickedly sharp blade of his foe's weapon and brought his Kunanagi blade forward, pommel first. With something akin to a brief war cry, Roa brought the butt of his weapon crushing into the small of Davide's throat, using the leverage he gained from pulling him forward to his complete advantage.

Davide violently gagged for a moment, a sizable amount of spittle projected from his mouth from the force of the throat hit before he slumped into a pile, his scythe disappearing back into his deck as the Disaster Force deactivated, with its owner now thoroughly unconscious, "You never learned," he muttered down to the unconscious Disaster member, "You had no chance of defeating me... Oh, and I won our bet too."

"Oh man, he took him down like it was nothing!" Gao gasped, "that was... totally brutal!" After everyone recovered from their shock, they all ran downstairs toward the entrance of the ring, wanting to see what had happened from close up. Entering the ring, everyone saw the same thing that they had witnessed from up above; Roa standing over a defeated Davide, a fierce scowl upon his face.

Touya was the first to break the silence as he stepped forward, "It seems that you worked out quite a lot of tension on that poor boy, didn't you?"

Roa snorted with some humor, "Don't try and pretend that the brat didn't deserve it and then some," he reasoned, his blue gaze still containing a hint of angry redness.

Touya was unreadable as always, "Very well Sir, but what do you intend to do with him now?" he indicated the body that was resting by his boss' feet.

"We'll drag him to the Buddy police and let them deal with him," Roa planned, kicking Davide's side unforgiving and producing a groan from the boy, before he paced away from him, "after that, I don't care what they do with him."

But before anyone could say anything else, a dark portal opened up over Davide's body. From the portal, a hand reached out to grab him, "Master Kyoya will be most displeased with you," the hand's owner replied, though by this point, Roa was already in motion.

"Sofia Sakharov! Stop right there!" he shouted as he ran at her - too late, as the portal quickly shut behind the both of them, as Roa came to a grinding halt less than a foot from having reached them, "Damn it, they escaped," he clenched his fists, his teeth gritted furiously.

"Well, so much for dragging him to the Buddy Police, then," Touya commented offhand.

"How did you make the power of your cards real as well?" Zanya demanded, as he approached Roa, "You were somehow able to block David's attack with your own card. That shouldn't be possible."

But Roa glared at him a little, his red-tinted eyes boring holes into the young Kisaragi, "I'm afraid that's really none of your business. Not only was I forced to do it to defend myself, but there's no reason for you all to know it now," he addressed everyone else, "Now please, just do me a great favor and forget about this, at least for right now." Though everyone else seemed uncertain and still curious, they also seemed to respect Roa's wishes for the moment, at least, and didn't ask any more questions.

Somewhat hesitatingly, Axia approached his Buddy, "R-Roa," he started, as he turned in surprise, as if having forgotten that Axia was there, "Are you ok...?"

"Axia..." Roa did a double take, as the reddish tinge quickly faded from his eyes. Blinking once or twice, Roa's expresion softened a great deal as he frowned sadly, "Y-yeah, I'm alright... Thank you."

But Axia had to be sure, "Are you sure? Really, REALLY sure?" he persisted, "Roa, when you were Buddyfighting him, you... it was like you became someone else... I didn't know you."

"Don't worry, I'm ok," Roa's hand came down and rested upon Axia's shoulder, the familiar weight of it quickly dispelling much of Axia's doubt, "I'm sorry, I..." he hesitated, as if thinking of the right words to use, "I had to win, I couldn't let myself lose..." before he sighed, now looking tired, "It's my fault, I don't even like Buddyfight much. I should have waited for you so that we could have fought him together - then, you maybe you wouldn't have had to seen me like that..."

Axia replied with one of his signature hugs, although this time, Roa was untoppled by it, almost having grown used to the endearingly affectionate way that Axia would showcase his caring of others, "Oh Roa, it's alright," he promised, "I'm not mad at you, I'm just glad that you're ok." And with that they disengaged the hug, each of them with a healthy blush and smile on their own faces.

Drum gagged a little, "Are they done hugging yet?" he muttered to himself.

But no one listened to him as everyone else began to disperse by this time, each of them going their own ways now that there was nothing more to occupy them all. Roa extended his hand down to Axia, as the stadium's bright light seemed to illuminate and frame his body, "I'm sorry that today wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be," he apologized, "but I hope you had at least _some_ fun."

Axia took his hand as the two began to talk off, "Don't worry Roa, I had a great time," he smiled, "but next time, I'm gonna be fighting right there alongside you~!" he giggled.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Roa chuckled as the two of them walked off into the mall's crowd, their day of fun having come to an end.

"Hey, Roa... let's go home, together."

* * *

**Scene! First off everyone, I need to apologize for the massive delay in time from the last chapter to this one - real life and College have been devouring most of my free time, and I've been plagues with constant brain farts that have been inhibiting my creative process. Anyways, to make up for that all, this chapter is extra-long, as I'm sure you no doubt noticed by now. I hope that his makes up for that at least a little!**

**Now, before you form a mob, let me just say that I've tried to keep Spirit World as un-broken as possible, although this chapter didn't do a good job at backing that up. XD**

**Mainly, the only reason Roa did so well against Davide is because Spirit World naturally was able to bypass Darkness Dragon World's Spectral Strike, which is half the power of the entire deck. Against another World, Roa would have surely done not nearly as well as he did, he just either got lucky, or did his homework and came in with every advantage possible. (Basically, he had the better deck, in this particular case.)**

**Touya as well seems more interesting and mysterious - he may be blind, but he can smell bullshit a mile away, and fittingly, can "see" the truth in a capacity that far exceeds most normal people. I'm finding him fun to write.**

**Also, something that I might receive some flack for; in this chapter, I wanted to showcase Roa's "dark" side a little more, as evidenced by his journal entry and his behavior against Davide in today's fight. Without giving too much away, all I can say is that you'll need to connect the dots I make on Roa's past to figure him out... And yes, he's not some two dimensional character, and he's certainly not some, "stupid, happy-go-lucky idiot that always does the right thing without expecting anything in return" - he's no angel.  
**

**He's unusual, he's mysterious, he's interesting, but more than anything, he's deeply, deeply flawed. He's not a perfect character by _any_ means, so please don't think he is. He's had his own past issues that are very real, even if they have yet to be fully revealed. Anyways, I've already gone off on a tangent enough as it is, so read, review, and most of all, enjoy~!**

**P.S. A special shout out to my friend Kim, whose had a lot of really sucking crap going on with his life lately! Don't worry man, things'll get better eventually, you just gotta be tough and hold on! Please don't give up, ok?**

**P.S.S. In case anyone's interested, a link to Spirit World and all of its cards (so far) is now on my userpage.**

**EDIT: Cleaned up some spelling mistakes here and there, though I'm sure I missed a few.**


	11. To be rewritten!

Hello duckies, it's the author here with a little status update!

Unfortunately, due to some rather persistent real-life issues, I've been inordinately busy for the last several months, hence my lack of any updates to this fic. However, before you grow discouraged, let me just state that I am NOT dead, and neither is this story - in fact, far from it.

In spite of, or perhaps because of, my lack of updating for all this time, I realized that I wasn't very happy with the beginning of this story, as I only really stated to get into it in some of my more recent chapters.

Therefore, for both the story's sake and your reading pleasure, I'm planning on restarting this story from scratch with a completely different intro that will satisfy me.

For the most part things and characters will be the same, don't worry. However, I can't, in good conscious continue this story as it is while I'm feeling unsatisfied with its weak beginning.

And while I don't have any projected estimates as far as when this revised fic will necessarily begin, hopefully it will be soon.

And just in case, I will be leaving this old story up and online, at least until I'm a good way into the next story, just in case anything goes astray. So don't worry, to any of you who don't want to lose this, I'll be keeping it around for a while yet.

Anyways, I think I've babbled enough for this mini-update, and please stay tuned for this story's remake!


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